Energy Minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal says Trinidad and Tobago is now seeing renewed momentum on the Dragon Gas project with Venezuela following the restoration of key US licences and a new framework agreement involving Shell.
Speaking at Thursday’s Post Cabinet Media Briefing, the Minister said the developments are helping to move long‑delayed cross‑border gas projects closer to production.
“As you know, in the general licence, both 49 and 50 issued recently allowed Shell, BP, and others, but Shell and BP are of concern to us because of their involvement with Coquina and Dragon Gas. They have gotten the okay to continue the process.”
The Minister also revealed that a new agreement signed on Thursday is expected to make it easier for one of the major partners to move forward with development activity.
“Just today, we were happy to learn that Shell and the Government of Venezuela today signed a framework agreement that allows Shell to operate with a greater amount of ease and certainty and predictability with projects involving Dragon Gas and possibly others, but we are happy today that Shell has indeed signed a framework agreement.”
The Dragon project is designed to bring natural gas from Venezuelan fields into Trinidad and Tobago’s energy infrastructure for processing and export.
Despite earlier delays, the Energy Minister says stakeholders remain committed to meeting the revised production schedule.
“It was always 2027. It had moved from the first quarter to second quarter, so I would say now that we should be in a position to see the fruits of that deal by the second, third quarter of 2027, unless something else changes.”
And while the Dragon field remains a priority, Dr. Moonilal emphasised that the country’s energy future will not depend on a single cross‑border supply.
“I want to make the point for the Trinidad and Tobago citizens to understand that we are not depending on cross‑border or across‑border gas alone. We have what could be about 11 other projects that we are working on almost on a daily basis.”
The government says these developments, together with ongoing work with international energy companies, form part of a broader strategy to boost exploration, increase gas supply, and strengthen Trinidad and Tobago’s position in the global energy market.