Energy chamber: Dragon gas field licence a boost for Trinidad and Tobago

THE Energy Chamber said the securing of the licence for the Dragon gas field will give a major boost to the energy sector and the economy.

Energy Minister Stuart Young signed the final documents to secure the licence in Caracas, Venezuela on Thursday.

The licence will allow Shell and the National Gas Company (NGC) to develop and produce natural gas for export from Dragon to Trinidad and Tobago.

The Prime Minister and Young both hailed the securing of the licence as an important milestone.

The chamber shared that sentiment in a statement issued on Friday.

"This is a very significant development for the energy industry in Trinidad and Tobago. The announcement represents an important further milestone in the plans to import natural gas from Venezuela for use in our well-developed existing downstream gas industry and LNG export facilities."

The chamber said, "This natural gas will help return the mid and downstream infrastructure in Trinidad to capacity utilisation and will provide the world with a much-needed secure source of LNG and petrochemicals, such as methanol and ammonia."

The chamber added that Young has confirmed that Shell will operate the Dragon field and gas will brought to the existing Hibiscus platform for onward transmission to plants in Trinidad.

After thanking Government, Shell and NGC for securing the deal, the chamber said, "We look forward to further updates as the commercial and technical agreements are finalised."