BP, in partnership with United Arab Emirates-based firm XRG and a unit of Qatar’s conglomerate UCC Holding, has secured a licence to explore and develop the second phase of Venezuela’s offshore Loran field, according to announcements by the British company and government officials on Thursday.
The agreement was signed in Caracas and broadcast on state television. It gives BP’s group the right to produce up to 4 trillion cubic feet of gas from Loran.
Shell was awarded the licence for the first phase in June. BP stated in a press release that both phases will be developed simultaneously.
BP said it will operate the second-phase project, in which it has equal interests with UCC Holding’s oil and gas unit and XRG, which is owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
“We should not just push for the development of the country’s petroleum resources, but also for the growth of our gas resources,” said oil minister Paula Henao during the signing ceremony.
BP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Venezuelan government in April. The document established a framework for cooperation in exploration and production in the Plataforma Deltana project offshore Venezuela, which includes the Loran field.
Loran is part of XRG’s strategy to create a platform for gas and liquefied natural gas in Latin America, the company said in a separate press release.
Loran extends to the Shell-operated Manatee field in Trinidad and Tobago, where Venezuelan gas is planned to be processed into LNG. The fields together hold about 10 Tcf of recoverable gas.
Shell has begun development of Manatee, with first gas due next year. It will then follow up with Loran’s first phase, with the combined developments expected to add significant gas supply to the region.
BP and Venezuelan officials also signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to evaluate exploration opportunities in the Carupano East Block, which is part of the Mariscal Sucre marine area off Venezuela’s northeastern coast.
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