Two of this country's leading business chambers have congratulated the Government on having acquired a new OFAC licence to secure the supply of natural gas from Venezuela's Dragon Field.
00:00The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago has extended congratulations to the government on what it calls this achievement regarding Attorney General John Jeremy's announcement on Thursday that the U.S. Treasury Department has granted the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, license to pursue the development of the drug and gas field in Venezuela.
00:21And the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago, AMCHAM TNT, has extended its congratulations to the government for successfully securing the license from the U.S. Treasury Department to proceed with what it called the development of the drug and gas field in collaboration with Venezuela.
00:41AMCHAM TNT said it sees this quote as another positive affirmation of our symbiotic relationship with the United States of America, end quote.
00:50An OFAC license had been granted to Trinidad and Tobago under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, which had allowed for progress on the drug and gas deal under the former PNM administration led mostly by former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and briefly by former Prime Minister Stuart Young.
01:10However, shortly before the general election in Trinidad and Tobago in April of this year, that license was revoked under the administration led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
01:20The U.N.C. and its coalition of interests won the 2025 general election on April 28th.
01:27The new license, which is essentially a wave of certain U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, was granted to Trinidad and Tobago just over a week after a bilateral meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Basasa in Washington on September 30th.
01:44The Energy Chamber said in a statement following the Attorney General's announcement on Thursday that the OPAC license allows the government of Trinidad and Tobago, along with state entities and private companies, to engage with Venezuela without being affected by sanctions.
02:01The Energy Chamber added that this means that the involved entities may resume work on commercial and technical terms over the next six months.
02:12AMCHAM TNT said that the license paves the way for legally compliant cross-border collaboration on the drug and gas project, which would enhance our medium-term economic look and facilitate Trinidad and Tobago's continued capacity to be a leading and reliable hemispheric partner.
02:29The administration, led by Prime Minister Passat-Basasa, has supported lethal U.S. military strikes on boats the U.S. says was being used by narco-terrorists from Venezuela to carry illegal drugs.
02:42However, Prime Minister Passat-Basasa has said her administration has nothing against the people of Venezuela.
02:48Commenting on the new OPAC license from the U.S., AMCHAM TNT noted that the response to this latest development demonstrates that the government is cognizant of the complex geopolitical, regulatory, and commercial dynamics that will allow for the eventual development and is acting decisively to navigate them.
03:09AMCHAM TNT declared, quote, this license is more than a regulatory milestone, it is a vote of confidence in Trinidad and Tobago and our energy future, end quote.
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