[UPDATED] Trinidad and Tobago can open Dragon gas talks with Venezuela

ATTORNEY General John Jeremie has announced that the government has been granted a six-month OFAC licence by the US to pursue the Dragon gas deal, but only to begin negotiations with Venezuela.

Jeremie made the announcement at the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs office in Port of Spain.

He said the grant of the licence represents the diplomacy of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Although he was reluctant to divulge details, Jeremie said the licence was granted on October 8. He said it was issued under certain executive orders and authorised people including employees, affiliates, contractors and service providers employed by or acting on the behalf of TT, NGC, Shell PLC, Futura Clara Ltd and its subsidiaries, to engage in transactions with Venezuelan state-owned energy company PDVSA on the gas deal.

“The effect of the grant of this licence is to permit the government and NGC to engage in negotiations with the government of Venezuela and other stakeholders to advance the Dragon gas deal without breaching sanctions imposed by the US government,” he said.

Jeremie made it a point to note that the current administration was able to secure the licence within months at a cost of less than a half a million dollars, as compared to the last administration which spent more than $120 million with “nothing to show for it after two years.”

“This fact alone speaks volumes with respect to the manner in which the government and the prime minister has undertaken the business of the people of this country,” he said.

New OFAC licence ‘limited’

Jeremie admitted that the licence secured by the current government was different in “in form,” and “in substance.”

He said while the previous arrangement with the US was to licence the entire project, this time it is a “tiered approach,” in which TT was granted a licence that will go until April 2026.

“It is not the entire Dragon gas project which is licensed. It will be steps towards the exploitation of the gas,” Jeremie said.

“What we are dealing with in this initial stage are negotiations. The licence gives us permission to engage in talks. It is subject to conditions. Once we hit those conditions with respect to benefits to the US and ensuring the negotiations keep within particular lines with Venezuela, then you go to the second and third stages.”

“We have six months to negotiate within parameters – I don’t want to get into commercial terms – but you have to hit commercial targets for US companies inside of that. Those targets are not difficult to meet, they are reasonable and you have to hit targets with respect to the US and possible posture with Venezuela, so that certain benefits are permitted.”

He said the government is very confident that it will gain a full licence once it meets its targets in this one. He said this confidence is based on the new relationship between the TT and US governments.

“Our relationship with the US, the pivot that we have made in terms of our foreign policy, our relations with the US permits us to say that we are confident that we are dealing with good-faith partners. (The) commercial targets are reasonable and not unknown to us.”

Noting concerns of a lack of transparency raised while the previous administration was pursuing Dragon, Jeremie said there were still levels of confidentiality that the government has to adhere to.

“In all commercial agreements there are provisions which the various parties to the agreements would prefer to be kept confidential, that is just part of the type of business we are in,” he said.

He noted, lifting the licence for the media to see, that the correspondence was a short one. When the media asked if they could share the correspondence he said: “I don’t think so.”

Jeremie said the government has already begun to take permitted steps to advance the project, although he would not go into details as to what those steps were.

“We have a window of opportunity to exploit that window of opportunity and the government has been moving assiduously to exploit that window with urgency.”

With the granting of the licence Jeremie declared that the Dragon gas deal was “alive,” despite not having a face-to-face conversation with Venezuela.

He said Minister of Energy Roodal Moonilal and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers have not yet gone to Venezuela to speak to the Nicolas Maduro government but said that does not mean that there is no communication between the two governments.

“We might not have sat around the table (with the Maduro government), no one has gone to Caracas, but that does not mean to say that there has been radio silence between TT and Venezuela, I am just not able to comment on it.”

Asked about previous comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio who said the US government is willing to partner with TT and Venezuela on the Dragon gas deal as long as there was no significant benefit to the current Maduro government, Jeremie said there were ways to ensure that all parties benefit.

“There are ways. It is a win-win for all of the parties. The US benefits from these terms and conditions. There are terms and conditions in the licence which ensure that the US companies benefit. There are tiers in exactly how they should benefit. TT obviously stands to benefit and to a certain extent the people of Venezuela will benefit.”

Shell, bpTT also in talks with Venezuela

International reports indicate that both Shell PLC and bp through its local chapter bpTT are also in talks with Venezuela with regard to energy deals.

Outlets such as World Oil and Bloomberg have reported that Shell is strategically positioning itself to resume preliminary operations in the Dragon gas field with the aim to boost natural gas supplies to TT.

Oil Now reported on October 9, that the move reflects a growing confidence within Shell that the Trump administration will soon grant a new US sanction exemption licence.

While US policy toward Venezuela remains fractured between a desire to pursue energy supplies through US-based companies and sanctions against the Maduro government, Shell, Oil Now said, is using a targeted approach to re-engage with Venezuela and its offshore energy assets. Shell reportedly expressed optimism about securing a long-term licence from the OFAC which would allow the oil and gas giant to develop the Dragon field.

Reports said, unlike oil, which risks direct financial support to the Maduro government, natural gas deals are less politically sensitive and can be structured to avoid hard currency payments to Venezuela.

While this is happening bp PLC is also trying to reclaim its licence to develop the Manakin-Cocuina field, one of the largest cross-border fields between the two countries.

Opposition, chambers react

Opposition MP Stuart Young, in a statement on social media, called for clarity on the details of the provisional OFAC licence.

“Having walked the road of pursuing and securing the 30-year licence for the Dragon gas field as well as several OFAC licences, I have noted that the government has announced what sounds like some sort of six-month provisional type OFAC licence,” he said. “I urge the government to inform the population what are the terms and conditions of this six-month licence, for example, can Shell and NGC pay the Venezuelan government for the gas?”

He pointed out that the current government, while in opposition, had made weekly calls for details on the same Dragon deal. He said the PNM government “consistently kept the population appraised” on the developments.

He described the government’s posturing of confidentiality as a reason to not inform people on the specifics as “both ironic and hypocritical”

“The UNC sold the country the term ‘secret deal’ when referring to the previous work that was done to secure the licence for Dragon even though the licence was published in the Venezuelan Gazette and public.

“Again, I urge the government to be transparent on the terms of this provisional six month OFAC licence and more importantly, please tell us what did you, the UNC, promise in order to get it.”

Moonilal, in response to concerns raised by Young, reiterated the AGs position.

“The Attorney General was very precise and clear. After significant and intensive work we have attained an OFAC licence. We now have a clear and viable pathway to resuscitate the Dragon project that was dead on our arrival. We have worked hard in a short time and we have extensive work to (get) done.”

He expressed confidence in the government’s ability to seal the Dragon deal.

“Stuart Young asked what we promised to get the OFAC licence? We promised that the PNM and Stuart Young will take no part of TT’s energy future!”

The Energy Chamber and the American Chamber of Commerce of TT (Amcham) have extended congratulations to the government on its acquisition of the licence.

“The OFAC licence allows the government of TT, along with state entities and private companies, to engage with Venezuela without being affected by sanctions. This means that the involved entities may resume work on commercial and technical terms over the next six months,” the Energy Chamber said in a release.

Amcham said the development was viewed as another positive affirmation of TT’s relationship with the US.

“Amcham TT recognises this development as important for TT’s energy sector, and wider economy, reinforcing the nation’s strategic role in advancing regional energy security.

“The response to this latest development demonstrates that the government is cognisant of the complex geopolitical, regulatory, and commercial dynamics that will allow for the eventual development and is acting decisively to navigate them.

“This licence is more than a regulatory milestone; it is a vote of confidence in TT and our energy future.”

This story was originally published with the headline US grants government licence to negotiate with Venezuela on Dragon gas deal and has been updated to include additional details. See original post below.

Attorney General John Jeremie has announced that the government has been granted an OFAC licence by the US to pursue the Dragon gas deal, but only to begin negotiations with Venezuela.

The Attorney General made the announcement at the Attorney General and Legal Affairs office in Port of Spain.

Although he was reluctant to divulge details, Jeremie said the licence was granted on October 8 as the first phase of a “tiered approach,” which would require the TT government to reach certain “benchmarks” which would give the US certain “benefits” through US companies.

He however described the requirements as “reasonable and attainable.” He added that the licence has been granted for six months. However, he noted that the TT Government has not yet begun negotiations with the Venezuelan government.

With the granting of the licence Jeremie declared that the Dragon gas deal was “alive,” despite not having a face-to-face conversation with Venezuela.

“I might not have said that we have begun negotiations with Venezuela but I have reason for saying that the Dragon gas deal is alive. We might not have sat around the table (with the Maduro government), no one has gone to Caracas, but that does not mean to say that there has been radio silence between TT and Venezuela, I am just not able to comment on it.”