BP, Trinidad's NGC receive US license for gas development with Venezuela
Adds previous licenses issued in paragraphs 8-9
By Curtis Williams
May 29 (Reuters) -British oil major BP BP.L and Trinidad and Tobago's state energy firm NGC have received a two-year license from the U.S. Treasury Department to negotiate and develop the Cocuina-Manakin gas fields with Venezuela, Trinidad's energy minister said on Wednesday.
Washington last month did not renew a broad license that had allowed Venezuela to freely export its oil and receive investment, but it has since issued individual authorizations to companies trying to do business in the sanctioned South American country.
BP and NGC are now allowed to plan a project involving an offshore reservoir with about 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves that extends from Venezuela to Trinidad, Minister Stuart Young said in a Port of Spain media briefing.
The authorization is the second issued by the U.S. for energy projects between the two countries, following a license in 2023 to Shell SHEL.L and NGC for the Dragon gas field in Venezuela. That project will export gas to Trinidad under the license, recently extended through October 2025.
"It's the same terms as Dragon, where we can pay in U.S. currency," Young said, referring to the new license, which would allow customers to pay for the gas in hard currency as an exemption to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
A spokesperson for BP had said earlier this month that the company had suspended negotiations for Cocuina-Manakin, which on Venezuela's side belongs to the Plataforma Deltana project, until receiving a U.S. authorization.
The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
France's Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA, Spain's Repsol REP.MC and the Caribbean island of Aruba have also received U.S. licenses in recent days to do business with Venezuela.
The authorization to Aruba is for importing Venezuelan fuel oil for domestic use, Prime Minister Glenbert Croes said this week.
Venezuela wants to start gas exports to secure another source of revenue for the oil-producing country, which remains under sanctions since 2019. Meanwhile, Trinidad needs the gas to feed its petrochemical and liquefied natural gas plants as its own productions dwindles.
Venezuela and Trinidad expect a third project involving gas reserves in both countries' waters, the Loran-Manatee fields, to also be jointly developed, officials have said.
Shell, which operates the area on Trinidad's side, has not made a final investment decision to give the financial go-ahead to Manatee. The Loran-Manatee fields hold some 10 tcf of gas.
"The last time I met with President Nicolas Maduro, him and I did discuss Loran, and so obviously that is something on our radar," Young said. "But you do it focused with a strategy, one by one."
Reporting by Curtis Williams; additional reporting by Tibisay Romero and Deisy Buitrago. Writing by Marianna Parraga. Editing by Marguerita Choy
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
