Shell claims US general exploration licenses in Venezuela will enable it to move forward with Dragon natural gas project

Shell's Dragon gas project will be able to move forward with the general licenses issued by the U.S. for oil and natural gas exploration in Venezuela this month, according to a Shell spokesperson on Thursday.

As U.S. policies toward Venezuela have shifted, the project has been plagued by a series of starts and stops.

The company spokesperson said that the recent general licences are a "positive signal" and allow for progress to be made on the Dragon project. Shell hopes to export gas from Venezuela through the Atlantic LNG facility located in Trinidad and Tobago. Shell spokesperson stated that the company doesn't 'generally' comment on possible dates for investment decisions. CEO Wael Sawan said recently that Shell hopes to produce gas from Venezuela’s Dragon field within three years.

Shell owns a?45% stake in Atlantic LNG. BP and NGC each hold 45%. Despite having a 'capacity to produce 12 million metric tons per year,' the plant exported only 9 MT by 2025, due to shortages of gas, according to data from financial firm LSEG.

According to LSEG, the output from?Atlantic?LNG was 10%?of Shell?s global LNG production in 2025 and 15% of BP?s LNG exports.

(source: Reuters)