Shell in Trinidad-Venezuela pipeline deal

Hailed as a major deal, collaborative efforts between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela were strengthened with a new gas export agreement on Wednesday.

Signatories included Trinidad and Tobago’s Stuart Young, minister in the office of the prime minister, Venezuela’s Minister of Petroleum Nelson Martínez and Luis Prado, Shell’s representative in both countries.

The agreement will see the two nation’s work together to construct and maintain a 17-kilometre pipeline, the centrepiece of Wednesday’s deal, between the Dragón Field in Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago’s Shell-operated Hibiscus field.

The infrastructure will ultimately transport between 5.66 mcm-8.5 mcm (200 mcf-300 mcf) of gas to Trinidad, a boon in the wake of continuing gas shortages.

The newly minted agreement follows a December 3, 2016 government-to-government agreement for the commercial exploitation of Venezuela’s Dragón gasfield.

Shell has partnered with the government of Trinidad on this deal. The super-major owns an offshore platform in Trinidadian waters through which imports from the Dragón Field will enter Trinidadian pipelines.

Image courtesy of Venezuela’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mining (MPM)