Not even Guyana’s recent energy conference in Georgetown could diminish the significance of this month’s visit to Caracas by Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister, Stuart Young, to engage Caracas in talks that could see Port of Spain and Caracas finally, jointly commence development of the Dragon gas field that reportedly could produce around 150 million cubic feet of gas, daily, a project, which, once it is successfully completed will transform both countries into global energy powerhouses.
The project which had been effectively stymied for more than four years by US sanctions that have targeted Venezuela’s energy sector was finally cleared for execution by Washington back in January this year. The entities involved in the project are Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company (NGC). With both countries keen to get the Dragon project underway, Caracas trotted out its Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, to meet with the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister. Whatever transpired when the two met, neither side, it seemed, was ready to make it public.