Venezuela offshore gas and T&T

28th March 2026

While the crisis in the Middle East was obviously at the top of everyone’s mind at CERA Week, Venezuela was also a major focus. Opposition leader, María Corina Machado’s speech received top billing. She laid out an ambitious reform programme for the hydrocarbon sector, with a strong focus on creating the environment to encourage private sector investment, as well as proposing the privatisation of PDVSA. 

When it came to Venezuela, however, I was listening even more closely to Wael Sawan, the CEO of Shell. He spoke positively about Shell’s potential investments in Venezuela and most significantly mentioned that they were trying to advance not just one but two final investment decisions by the end of this year. One of these two will, I am sure, be the fabled Dragon gas field, which has received so much media attention over the years. The second is less clear. 

My bet is that Shell will be targeting the Loran field. This is the 7 trillion cubic feet natural gas reserve on the other side of the T&T – Venezuela maritime border to the Manatee field, currently under development by Shell. The Loran field was originally licensed to Chevron, but I cannot see it fitting well into their existing portfolio and their focus on revitalising their crude oil production in Venezuela. 

Chevron have reportedly been talking to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago. The Guaracara refinery was mentioned as a topic that they would discuss, but it is unlikely that any major international oil and gas company is going to be interested in a refinery investment. One thing that was clear from all of the oil company CEOs at CERA Week is that their focus is on high impact exploration and adding to their reserves, though with continued disciplined capital allocation. I find it hard to believe that any of them will allocate significant capital to a refinery in Trinidad. 

So, if they are not discussing the refinery, could they be discussing Loran and the potential sale to Shell? I do hope so. If the Loran reserves could be produced through the Manatee infrastructure currently being developed, it would allow the development to be fast tracked. 

Wael Sawan stated that if an FID was taken this year, then first gas could be within two years of that decision. This would be very welcome news for the T&T gas industry. 

While the name “Trinidad & Tobago” was not mentioned directly from the stage at CERA Week, the country clearly has an important role to play in the future of the gas industry in Venezuela. Daniel Yergin, the highly respected authority on the global energy industry and Chair of CERA Week, noted during his dialogue with Maria Machado that the early investors moving into Venezuela would most likely be US privately held independents with a strong risk appetite and investors into large offshore gas fields that could be linked into existing infrastructure. While he did not specify Shell and Trinidad, that was clearly what he meant. 

Exciting times.