Trinidad Asks US To Authorize Venezuelan Gas Imports

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is asking the US to authorize Venezuelan gas imports to restart an idled LNG plant, sources said to Reuters.

• Under current US sanctions, companies and government must receive permission from the Treasury Department to do business with the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. Previous requests have been unanswered.
• The gas would mainly come from Venezuela's 4.2TCF Dragon field. Production from the project stalled almost a decade ago over lack of capital and partners.
• If approved, the gas could restart an idled 500mn cf/d LNG train at the Atlantic LNG project, a venture by Shell, BP and NGC.
• “Our assessment is that within three years, Venezuela could be producing enough to supply Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG Train 1, at about 3.3t p/y”, according to IPD Latin America’s managing director, David Voght.
• Trinidad is Latin America's largest LNG exporter, with installed capacity to process 4.2bcf/d but its gas production is just around 3bcf/d.
• In 2021 and 2022, several industries in Trinidad have been suffering under gas curtailments, as demand for natural gas has surpassed production.