Trump Revokes Oil Majors’ Gas Project Licenses Offshore Venezuela

The Trump Administration has revoked licenses for oil supermajors Shell and BP and their partners to operate natural gas projects offshore Venezuela that plan to send gas to Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island’s Prime Minister Stuart Young has said.

Since taking office in January, U.S. President Trump has started to tighten the screws on Venezuelan oil industry and exports, revoking Chevron’s license and the licenses of the European firms to export crude from the South American country, which holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves.

The U.S. Treasury has revoked a license for French oil firm Maurel & Prom to operate in Venezuela and is no longer allowing firms to receive oil from Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA in lieu of payments.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a wind-down license until May 27, 2025, authorizing M&P, Spain’s Repsol, and Italy’s Eni to undertake transactions necessary to conclude operations previously covered under the now-revoked license.

Now the withdrawal of the licenses has hit BP and Shell for two gas fields in Venezuelan waters that the supermajors plan to develop with Trinidad and Tobago and its National Gas Company (NGC).

The U.S. Treasury in early 2023 granted a license to Trinidad and Tobago, allowing the Caribbean nation to develop the Dragon gas field offshore Venezuela in partnership with Shell and do business related to the gas field with Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA.

The importance of energy security for Trinidad and Tobago was one of the reasons why the U.S. granted the initial license—to boost the energy security in the Caribbean basin.

But now the licenses for the Dragon field with Shell’s participation and the Cocuina-Manakin project involving Trinidad and Tobago and BP are revoked by the Trump Administration, making Trinidad and Tobago more vulnerable to a decline in its gas production.

Prime Minister Young said Trinidad and Tobago would seek a meeting with representatives of the U.S. Administration to pitch the importance of the gas projects for Trinidad.

Source: oilprice.com