Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago at the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Panama City 2014. Photo: World Economic Forum.
Guacamaya, April 30, 2025. The new government of Trinidad and Tobago said that it will open discussions with Washington DC to access gas fields across the sea border with Venezuela, as reported by Argus.
United National Congress (UNC) party leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar won a victory on April 28, and will take office on May 1. She beat the People’s National Movement (PNM) led by Stuart Young, who had signed the agreements with Venezuela as energy minister.
Persad-Bissessar is taking office for a second time, after 10 years of PNM rule over the Caribbean nation.
Trinidad and Tobago is a major exporter of natural gas, but reserves are dwindling faster than previously expected. The country has thus tried to gain access to large offshore gas fields in Venezuelan waters, in the Deltana Platform.
Young reached two separate deals with British energy giants Shell and BP, where they would have 80% stakes and the local National Gas Company (NGC) would retain 20%. Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA would not partake in operations, but Caracas would receive royalties and other taxes.
The Biden administration allowed the projects to move forward with licenses from the Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which served as sanctions waivers. However, this month the Trump administration revoked them to increase economic pressure on Venezuela.
“We will work with the Trump administration to see how the discussions with the Venezuelan government on the cross-border gas fields can be reopened,” the UNC’s energy spokesman David Lee said. Argus Media has reported that he is expected to become the next energy minister.
Other companies in the sector, including Repsol, are in conversations with the U.S. government to maintain their operations in Venezuela.
A source with information on the matter claimed that the U.S. State Department promised Young that the Trinidad gas licenses would not be revoked before the election, so as to not alter the outcome. Instead, they would be allowed to expire in October. However, they were withdrawn just days before the vote. The Office of the Prime Minister—under Young—did not respond to a request for comment.
