T&T finalises new gas deal with Venezuela

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Guardian -  T&T and Venezuela have reached a deal to jointly produce gas from fields located between the two countries, Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said. According to a Prensa Latina report, Venezuelan state-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and Chevron Corp will produce the gas from unified offshore fields that contain nearly 12 trillian cubic feet of natural gas.

The deal was sealed on Tuesday night with Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, who travelled to Caracas to wrap up the agreement, Ramirez said. He said the gas production agreement is scheduled to be signed in Caracas next week. “We are going to sign the document approving the functional structure and governability of the operations of the unified fields next week with the presence of Minister Ramnarine,” Ramirez said.

The biggest of the fields has 10.25 trillion cubic feet of gas, of which “73.75 per cent is Venezuela’s and 26.25 per cent is Trinidad and Tobago’s,” Ramirez said. Production from this field will be undertaken from the Venezuelan side, said Ramirez, who is also the CEO of PDVSA. “We have reached an agreement. We are going to exploit it from the Venezuelan side, where 73.75 per cent of the gas is…and we are going to do it between PDVSA Gas and Chevron,” the energy minister said.