TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO and Venezuela have signed an inter-institutional agreement for the joint production of gas from the Dragon Field, a deal that has been in the works since 2018.

A tweet from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the signing of the historic deal saying the signing of the agreement was a “message of peace, solidarity and shared sovereignty.”

A publication from the Venezuelan Government said the agreement would allow for the installation of pipelines in Venezuelan waters to produce gas in a joint venture between the two countries.

The deal was signed by TT's Energy Minister Stuart Young and Venezuelan Minister of Popular Power for Petroleum and president of Petróleo de Venezuela (PDVSA) Pedro Tellechea.

“We are going to produce gas together,” said Tellechea. “TT and Venezuela in a sovereign manner is a powerful signal for the Caribbean. Sooner rather than later (we will) convert all this gas with the technology that you manage well, into wealth.”

The Dragon deal was first made between both countries in 2018, signed by TT Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Venezuelan President Maduro with the National Gas Company (NGC), Shell and PDVSA. The deal was for a pipeline from Venezuelan waters to Trinidad and Tobago, which had an estimated cost of US$1 billion.

But turmoil in Venezuela led to the deal being shelved in 2019, prompting the TT Government to seek alternative prospects by studying development options to produce gas from the Loran-Manatee Field, a field which straddles the Venezuelan-Trinidad border.

Last year TT applied for the right to be exempted from US sanctions placed on Venezuela.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted TT a two-year licence allowing for the commencement of the deal.

However as a requirement of the deal, TT was not allowed to provide cash payments to the Venezuelan Government’s state-owned enterprises.

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