Companies planning a flagship offshore gas project between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago "have not slowed down" work, Trinidad Prime Minister Stuart Young said on Thursday, despite the United States increasing pressure on sanctioned Venezuela and uncertainty over the extension of a license for the project.
Following talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting South American and Caribbean countries this week, Young said the "landscape is changing," referring to the imposition of secondary tariffs on importers of Venezuelan oil and gas recently announced by Washington.
A US license authorizing the gas project, located in Venezuelan waters and whose first production could come as early as next year, was granted in 2023 to Shell and Trinidad's National Gas Company. It is set to expire in October.
The United States has not shown its commitment to extend it, even though companies see the extension as essential to secure first output once a final investment decision is made on the project, which could come this year.
Trinidad's government plans to buy equipment from US providers to bolster energy security, Young added, without providing details.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Chris Reese and Mark Porter)