Shell (NYSE:SHEL) and BP (NYSE:BP) are pursuing approvals from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to move ahead with natural gas projects spanning Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, according to Trinidad’s energy minister Roodal Moonilal.
Addressing delegates at the Indian Energy Week conference on Wednesday, Moonilal said Shell is seeking authorization to develop the Loran-Manatee gas discovery. The cross-border field is estimated to contain around 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, with roughly 7.3 tcf located in Venezuelan waters and about 2.7 tcf on the Trinidad side.
BP, meanwhile, has submitted an application to develop the Cocuina-Manakin gas field, Moonilal said.
The Venezuelan segment of Cocuina-Manakin forms part of the Plataforma Deltana offshore gas project, which is currently inactive but is estimated to hold about 1 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.