The US Treasury Department has granted a licence to Trinidad and Tobago to develop the 350 mcf/d (3.6 bcm/year) Dragon natural gas field, located in Venezuelan territorial waters. Trinidad and Tobago, which applied for the licence in mid-2022, will now be able do business related to the Dragon gas field with Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA, which is heavily sanctioned by the US.
This decision comes as the US is slowly easing sanctions on Venezuela, a policy stemming from concerns of energy supply security triggered by the global energy crisis. However, the awarded licence comes with some conditions, notably that Venezuela will not be permitted to receive any cash payments from this project and that all remaining US sanctions would be unchanged and enforced. In addition, the licence was awarded for an initial two years, while Trinidad and Tobago had asked for 10 years.
In 2021, Trinidad and Tobago produced 26 bcm of natural gas (-15%, -5 bcm compared to 2020) and its LNG production also fell by 5 bcm (-35%) to 9.4 bcm.
