PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFP) – The United States (US) has given the green light for the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago to explore an offshore gas field in Venezuela, close to its maritime border, Trinidadian authorities announced Thursday.

Venezuela and the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago signed an agreement with oil major Shell in 2023 for the production and export of gas from the Dragon field.

John Jeremie, attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago, said the US Treasury Department had granted a license to continue exploration of the field, six months after Washington revoked the permit.

Jeremie said the license would allow Trinidad and Tobago to negotiate with Venezuela to advance the project, without violating US energy sanctions on Caracas imposed in 2019.

Washington had in March suspended a wave of licenses to oil companies to operate in Venezuela, although it later authorized limited operations by Chevron.

The Dragon field holds an estimated 120 billion cubic meters of gas.

It is located in Venezuelan waters, close to Trinidadian fields operated by Shell.

The US permit is expected to help Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean’s second-largest producer of natural gas, shore up its declining gas output.

The authorization comes despite a major US naval deployment in the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela, which has fuelled speculation that Trump may be about to authorize strikes on Venezuelan targets.