Trinidad and Tobago secures US permission to negotiate gas deal with neighboring Venezuela

The U.S. has granted Trinidad and Tobago permission to negotiate a gas deal with neighboring Venezuela without facing any U.S. sanctions, the Caribbean nation’s attorney general said Thursday.

The U.S. Treasury Department granted an Office of Foreign Assets Control license on Wednesday that allows parties to engage in a transaction that would otherwise be prohibited, according to the agency.

With Venezuela hit by U.S. sanctions, Trinidad and Tobago needed the license to pursue the development of a gas field located in Venezuelan waters. The license was granted following a request that Trinidad and Tobago made in May, according to Attorney General John Jeremie.

Jeremie said the license does not cover the entire gas project but allows for initial negotiations. He declined to give details about the license’s commercial terms, saying only that certain benefits are permitted. Once the first stage is successfully completed, Jeremie said the process would move toward exploiting gas.

The permission was secured after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister on Sept. 30. During that meeting, Rubio outlined U.S. support for the gas deal and “steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime,” the U.S. Department of State said.

Previously, in October 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department had granted a license for the same gas project. But in April of this year, Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister announced it had been revoked, a blow to the country’s energy security.