Former Minister of Energy, Kevin Ramnarine, has welcomed the agreement signed between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, which will see the joint exploitation of gas in the territorial waters shared by both countries.
However, Ramnarine said more information should have been publicised.
He said: “Any progress that has been made with the Dragon deal in the last couple of days and so on is something to welcome. In my mind, we need some answers as to exactly what was signed or what was agreed to in Caracas a couple days ago.”
Ramnarine said the Government should disclose what Minister Young committed the public to when he signed the agreement. He also questioned when natural gas would begin to be produced from the arrangement.
He reminded that the $1 billion deal was first signed between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2018. It involved the National Gas Company (NGC), Shell T&T and PDVSA.
In January 2023, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted a two-year licence on the condition that no cash be paid to the Venezuelan government’s state-owned enterprises. This was met with resistance from the Spanish speaking country.