Venezuela Signs Shell License for Loran Field Phase I, Sealing Five Strategic Agreements with British Energy Giant

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez led the signing of a landmark license for Phase I of the Loran field development at Miraflores Palace on June 11, formalizing five strategic instruments between Venezuela and Shell. The Loran field, untapped for 23 years, holds an estimated seven trillion cubic feet of natural gas across seven reservoirs — six of them shared with Trinidad and Tobago.

Lead

Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez led the signing ceremony for the Phase I Development and Exploitation License of the Loran field with British multinational Shell this Thursday, June 11, at the Miraflores Palace. The event, held in the Salón Sol del Perú, formalized a total of five strategic instruments between the Republic and the energy company, within the framework of the technical and financial alliance established in March 2026 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MPPRE), June 11, 2026).

The Loran Field

The Loran field is a non-associated natural gas asset comprising seven reservoirs, six of which are transboundary with the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Its reserves are estimated at approximately seven trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. The field had remained undeveloped for 23 years prior to Thursday's signing.

"Today we are taking a historic step — that is how I see it — with the signing of this license for phase one of the development and exploitation of the Loran field, which is a transboundary field that we share with Trinidad and Tobago," said Acting President Delcy Rodríguez at the ceremony. "This is a license that will allow Venezuela to take a very important step in its gas development and also as a gas exporter. We said it from the moment we began negotiations with Shell and other companies in the gas area: we wanted to make Venezuela a gas exporter, and with this signing we are reaffirming that path."

The Five Instruments

The four remaining legal instruments signed correspond to the March technical and financial alliance and comprise three purchase orders and two service orders for the execution of work in the Carito and Pirital production units of the Punta de Mata Division, in the northern part of Monagas state. The agreements target an increase in light crude production — a hydrocarbon used as a diluent in the formulation of the Merey 16 Blend with crude extracted from the Orinoco Oil Belt — and the supply of the "diet" required by the Puerto La Cruz Refinery for fuel production.

The purchase orders also contemplate the acquisition of spare parts for the compression equipment fleet, which will reduce gas flaring and allow that resource to be formally incorporated into the national market as direct fuel for the electricity, industrial, petrochemical, and domestic sectors, as well as for the export market.

Regulatory and Strategic Framework

The signing falls within the framework of the recently reformed Hydrocarbons Law, which enables flexible negotiation arrangements and commercial agreements between the Venezuelan state and international companies. "These forms of negotiation and flexible business agreements also give us a boost to production for a better use of resources for the people of Venezuela. The steps we are taking today are the future of our country — that is a certainty," said Acting President Rodríguez, who described the understanding as a "win-win agreement for both parties" based on technical complementarity.

Phase I of the Loran field is scheduled to begin production in 2027, with infrastructure connected to the existing processing system in Trinidad and Tobago, which will open Venezuela's first offshore gas export window. The project complements the development of the Dragon field, also operated by Shell, and consolidates Venezuela's position as a new energy supplier for the Caribbean region.

"With these agreements, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms its policy of attracting investment from global actors and its capacity to execute projects in pursuit of productive efficiency and resource sustainability," the Presidency stated in its official communiqué.

More information: agenciavenezuelaext.com
Contact: redaccion@venezuelaext.com

By Javier "El Profe" Romero