Port of Spain, Caracas in gas deal

CARACAS, December 6, 2016 – Venezuela will supply natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago from its offshore Dragon field under a deal signed by the leaders of the two nations in Caracas on Monday.

Few details of the agreement are publicly available, though the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, promised journalists more specifics once he returns to his country after talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago are also jointly planning to develop offshore resources near their shared maritime border, to combat drug trafficking and to expand trade under a previous agreement signed in May.

“We need to continue accelerating the pace […] of the execution of projects,” Maduro told journalists. “We want things to go well and go quickly, and for this deal to work for both countries.”

Venezuela, reeling from a domestic crisis triggered by low global oil prices, announced last month that it planned to use some USD 2.2 billion of credit from China to restore its declining crude production.

Trinidad and Tobago, which replaced its energy minister weeks ago, is also seeking to up its production, even as it already is the largest oil and gas producer in the Caribbean. Days ago, BP said it was hoping for first gas from the Juniper project offshore Trinidad and Tobago by Q3 of next year.

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