Trump administration revokes BP, Shell's Venezuelan gas licences

The Trump administration has revoked the licenses of BP, Shell, and their partners to operate natural gas projects offshore Venezuela, aimed at supplying gas to Trinidad and Tobago, according to the Caribbean island’s Prime Minister Stuart Young.

Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuela’s oil industry, tightening restrictions on foreign firms, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The U.S. has previously revoked Chevron’s licence as well as those of several European companies, including Shell and BP, halting crude exports from the country, which holds the world’s largest oil reserves.

In a related move, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has cancelled the licence of French firm Maurel & Prom and suspended the ability of companies to receive Venezuelan crude from state-owned PDVSA as payment for services.

However, the latest blow comes with the revocation of licences for BP and Shell to develop gas fields offshore Venezuela in collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC). The U.S. Treasury had granted a licence earlier in 2023 to Trinidad and Tobago, allowing the island to collaborate with Shell on the Dragon gas field. The licence was part of a wider strategy to strengthen energy security in the Caribbean region.

Now, with the licences for both the Dragon and Cocuina-Manakin projects—developed with BP—revoked, Trinidad and Tobago faces the risk of diminished gas production, which could undermine its energy security.

In response, Prime Minister Young announced that the government would seek a meeting with U.S. officials to highlight the importance of these energy projects for the island’s economic stability.

By Aghakazim Guliyev