Trinidad Nixes Venezuelan Gas Deal due to Sanctions: Press

Trinidad and Tobago has cancelled an agreement to jointly develop the 10-trillion ft³ Loran-Manatee gas field with Venezuela because of US sanctions, the Caribbean nation’s prime minister said at an energy conference on February 3, according to Reuters.

The two countries first agreed to work together to exploit the shallow-water field in 2013. The project would provide Trinidad and Tobago with extra gas to feed its LNG export terminals, replacing declining domestic supply, while giving Venezuela access to markets.

“Progress in the development of the unitised Loran-Manatee field has been impeded by the sanctions imposed by the US government, which inhibits US companies from doing business with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA,” Trinidad and Tobago’s premier Keith Rowley told reporters.

Under their 2013 agreement, Venezuela owns 73.75% of the field with the rest belonging to Trinidad and Tobago. US major Chevron and PDVSA have 60% and 40% stakes in the Venezuelan share, while the Trinidad and Tobago portion is 100% controlled by Shell.

The US government applied sanctions to PDVSA last year in an effort to topple the regime of president Nicolas Maduro.