00:00Prime Minister Kamala Posada-Besessa on the social media platform X says Trinidad and Tobago is set to directly benefit
00:06from the license for Phase 2 for the Loran gas field in Venezuela signed on Thursday in Caracas by the
00:14government of Venezuela, BP, XRG from the United Arab Emirates and UCC Holding from Qatar.
00:21Prime Minister Posada-Besessa said Phase 1 of Loran was previously signed with Shell and that, quote, these two agreements
00:28will send approximately 7 trillion cubic feet of gas from Venezuela into Trinidad and Tobago for processing in our LNG
00:36and petrochemical plants, end quote.
00:38Atlantic LNG, which exports liquefied natural gas, is located in Point Fortin, while the petrochemical plants, which produce exports such
00:46as ammonia, methanol, and urea, are located at the Point Lisas industrial estate.
00:52Loran is the larger gas field, which is adjacent to the manatee field, which is in Trinidad and Tobago's waters.
00:58On its website, Shell states that in 2019, the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela entered into a government
01:06-to-government agreement, allowing each country to independently develop its respective share of the Loran manatee field.
01:13That occurred during the former PNM administration, which said it had been negotiating with the governments of Venezuela and the
01:21U.S. on the matter, as there had been U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
01:25Since being elected into office in 2025, the UNC-led government has maintained local natural gas production is projected to
01:32recover from what it called years of underperformance.
01:36In February of this year, the U.S. granted a general license for development of petroleum resources in Venezuela, following
01:43the capture of Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, by U.S. forces in January of this year.
01:48On Friday, Prime Minister Persaud-Bissessa provided an English translation of the announcement by Venezuela's acting President, Densi Rodriguez in
01:56Caracas, who said, quote,
01:57that after 23 years, we have finally managed to give the necessary impetus to begin gas production in this extraordinary
02:05and enormous field known as Loran, which is adjacent to the manatee field on the Trinidad and Tobago side, end
02:12quote.
02:12BP said the agreements were finalized during an official visit to Venezuela by BP Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill
02:19and BP Senior Vice President of Latin America and the Caribbean David Campbell, whose responsibilities includes BP's operations in Trinidad
02:28and Tobago.
02:29Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal spoke with the media about the matter after the Oropuch East constituency's back-to-school
02:36distribution on Friday.
02:38We took note of BP. BP, as you know, is a legacy partner to Trinidad and Tobago. They have been
02:43operating here for several decades, and they have secured a license for Phase 2 of the Loran.
02:49Phase 1, as you know, has been given to Shell, and that gas is coming on shore to Trinidad, so
02:54that we will continue our work with Venezuela and with BP to look at, you know, circumstances that could be
03:01mutually beneficial to all our legacy partners and also to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
03:07The Energy Minister spoke about gas and oil production.
03:10By 2027, we expect to have the expansion of gas. The molecules will reach and be monetized, so that by
03:192027, we expect that we will feel the economic effect of the expansion and supply, and we will also, of
03:26course, be working with our partners to increase oil production, which is important.
03:31In April of this year, Energy Minister Munilal said an increase in production was expected from what the government has
03:37deemed Manatee Plus, the project with Shell in Manatee, which is in Trinidad and Tobago's waters.
03:42On Friday, Dr. Munilal gave a wider perspective.
03:46There's a lot of excitement now. This region has become the energy and gas flashpoint of the planet, and we
03:55are now dealing with domestic and regional gas supply.
03:59Prime Minister Pusabas has said on X that there has strengthened energy cooperation between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, as
04:05she declared, progress on the lower and Manatee gas field signals a major step forward in cross-border energy cooperation
04:12and regional development.
04:14June Brown, TV6 News.
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