PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Power Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago (ECTT) has described as “disappointing” however “not sudden” the announcement by america that it was revoking the Workplace of International Belongings Management (OFAC) license that had been granted to Trinidad and Tobago to permit Shell, the Nationwide Fuel Firm (NGC) and contractors to discover, produce, and export pure gasoline from the Venezuelan Dragon Fuel Discipline.
In a press release, the chamber famous the information that Washington had revoked the 2 OFAC particular licenses for the Dragon and Cocuina fields.
“That is disappointing information, however not sudden given the earlier cancellation of different common and particular licenses for firms working in Venezuela.”
The license was legitimate till October 31, 2025, and enabled Trinidad and Tobago to pay for gasoline in varied currencies and thru humanitarian measures. On December 21, 2023, Trinidad and Tobago additionally secured a 30-year exploration and manufacturing license from the federal government of Venezuela for the Dragon gasoline discipline.
Washington has additionally revoked the Cocuina-Manakin license granted to Port of Spain on Could 31, 2024.
Prime Minister Stuart Younger advised a information convention on Tuesday that he had obtained communication from the related US authorities on the difficulty and that Port of Spain had been given a winding down interval till Could 27 this 12 months.
“What I can inform Trinidad and Tobago is that we have now now been knowledgeable that our license from OFAC, which is dated 18th December 2023, has been revoked by OFAC and the Cocuina-Manakin license.
“However I can inform Trinidad and Tobago, I’ve few particulars. I’ve been in contact with our attorneys at regulation in Washington, DC. I received’t say there’s a course of for attraction of this revocation, however there’s a course of so that you can make an utility for it to not be or for there to be amendments.
“We’re going to be partaking in that course of on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago,” Younger stated, including that he had additionally “reached out” to the US Particular Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mauricio Claver-Carone, and put in a request for a phone dialog with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “all of which I count on us to have the chance for me as soon as once more on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago to current our case.”
The Power Chamber stated that importing pipeline gasoline from Venezuela for processing and onward gross sales to worldwide markets as both Liquid pure gasoline (LNG) or petrochemicals stays a big financial alternative for Trinidad and Tobago.
“It’s important that the federal government of Trinidad & Tobago continues to have interaction actively with each the federal government of america and Venezuela to discover a mechanism to pursue this chance.
“Concurrently, there are important alternatives to develop pure gasoline fields inside Trinidad and Tobago’s unique financial zone, and these should even be pursued actively and urgently.”
The chamber stated a number of fields, together with Mento, Coconut, Ginger, and Manatee, are presently being developed, and others, together with Calypso, Blackjack, and Onyx, the place firms are working in direction of making a remaining funding resolution.
“All these alternatives needs to be pursued to assist keep and enhance Trinidad and Tobago’s upstream gasoline manufacturing.”
In the meantime, the principle opposition, the United Nations Congress (UNC), which is campaigning for the April 28 common election, stated the federal government had been warned in regards to the undertaking.
“We advised the federal government that they needed to do issues correctly with these licenses and the brand new Trump administration,” stated the previous chief of the Opposition Enterprise in Parliament, David Lee.
He advised the NEWSDAY newspaper that the opposition had warned the federal government towards “putting all their eggs in a single basket with (Venezuelan president Nicolas) Maduro.”
“They need to have – and I preserve repeating it as soon as extra – for the final ten years, this authorities ought to have been incentivizing vitality firms in Trinidad to proceed drilling and exploring inside our territorial waters.
“The Opposition stored saying we have now no drawback for those who get gasoline from Venezuela, however not on the expense of jeopardizing our exploration and drilling in our territorial waters. “So we aren’t shocked. We advised this authorities that this might occur. We advised this authorities {that a} new (American) administration is a special ball recreation,” he added.
