Venezuela on Thursday granted British energy giant Shell a licence to explore and export natural gas, marking a fresh expansion of foreign participation in the country’s hydrocarbon sector.
The development comes as multinational companies step up efforts to access Venezuela’s vast oil and gas reserves. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez opened the sector to foreign investment in January, pushing a reform law through the legislature under pressure from Washington following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation.
Rodríguez said Shell will develop the Loran gas field, which had remained unused for 23 years. The field contains seven gas deposits, six of them located across the maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago.
She said the project will help Venezuela move forward in gas development and strengthen its position as an exporter.
Venezuela holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves and also has significant natural gas resources.
Shell representatives also visited the Muscar Operational Complex in Monagas state earlier on Thursday. The facility serves as a gas processing and distribution centre, according to state-owned oil company PDVSA.
In 2023, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago signed an agreement with Shell for gas production and export from the Dragon field, which holds around 120 billion cubic metres of gas. The project had operated intermittently during the US oil embargo imposed in 2019.
The Rodríguez administration has since signed agreements with several major international energy firms, including Britain’s BP and Spain’s Repsol.
