Venezuela signs major oil and gas agreements with Shell

The Ministry of Oil of Venezuela will cooperate with the British company Shell in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The corresponding agreements were signed on March 5 at the headquarters of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state company reports.

“We are very pleased to conclude these agreements with Shell in the areas of gas and oil. We are already implementing and enforcing the new Hydrocarbons Law with new business models,” said acting President of the Republic Delcy Rodriguez, according to the statement.

The agreements cover issues related to offshore natural gas production (in particular, the Dragon project), as well as oil and gas production onshore, Shell said in a statement. In addition, the British company signed agreements with the Venezuelan engineering firm VEPICA and with the American companies KBR and Baker Hughes.

The ceremony was also attended by U.S. Secretary of the Interior and head of the National Council on Energy, Doug Burgum, who arrived in Venezuela two days earlier for talks on cooperation in energy and mining. It was noted that on March 5, Rodriguez held a joint meeting with him and representatives of the oil and gas industry.