UNC questions new signing of Dragon gas deal

Shadow energy minister David Lee said the newly signed Dragon gas deal was a good thing for the country.

“Any gas that Trinidad and Tobago gets from wherever once it is legally gotten is a good thing for the country,” Lee said on Thursday while speaking to Newsday.

But, he raised questions on the deal, wondering firstly what was the difference between what was signed by TT Energy Minister Stuart Young and Venezuelan Minister of Popular Power and president of Petróleo de Venezuela (PDVSA) Pedro Tellechea on Wednesday; and what was signed between the TT Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2018.

“What is the difference between what was signed back then and what was signed yesterday? When will we be seeing first gas from whatever they signed?” In 2018, Rowley and Maduro signed the deal following a meeting in 2016, which set the joint production venture in motion. Energy giant Shell was part of the deal, offering to lay down infrastructure using its pipelines, including those in the North Coast Marine Acreage to transport Dragon gas to the Hibiscus platform off the north-west coast of TT.

Then, the first tranche of Dragon gas was expected to yield about 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) or 26,505 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed.)

The Dragon field is part of the Mariscal Sure natural gas complex off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, some 18 kilometres away from the Hibiscus platform. Lee highlighted the importance of getting production done as soon as possible because the country had shortfalls in production for some time. “Under this government, TT has not been producing the gas that is required to maintain our daily requirements for Point Lisas Industrial Estate and for export,” he said. “We have been falling short, way below what this government has told us we would be getting. This government has not incentivised oil and gas companies to produce gas from TT fields.”

According to the Central Bank, in June TT produced 1.3 million cubic metres of liquefied natural gas and about 2.5 mmscfd in natural gas production. In June 2022, TT produced 1.6 million cubic metres of liquefied natural gas and 2.8 mmscfd. In June 2021, TT produced 1.2 million cubic metres of liquefied natural gas and produced 2.5 mmscfd of natural gas.