A geophysical and geotechnical survey are about to begin on a gas project being developed by Shell that is set to export gas from a field in Venezuela to the UK energy giant’s platform off Trinidad and Tobago, marking the start of preliminary work on the project.
Chartered by Geohidra, a Venezuelan company contracted by Shell, the Dona Jose 2 vessel will undertake a geophysical and geotechnical survey from the Dragon Field in Venezuela to the Shell-operated Hibiscus Platform off Trinidad and Tobago’s North Coast to acquire data with a side scan sonar, multibeam echo sounder and other survey technology onboard.
This first phase of the project, also representing the first physical work to be done by Shell on the field, will allow the collection of technical data to assess the status of existing infrastructure and to support the design of new facilities to be installed, as well as the design and routing for the installation of a 22-kilometer pipeline from the Dragon subsea field to the Hibiscus platform, pending final investment decision (FID).
According to the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago, the commencement of the geotechnical surveys comes at an accelerated speed of only ten months after Trinidad and Tobago received a 30-year license to explore, produce, and export gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Field.
Representatives from Shell and Trinidad’s National Gas Company, including Joseph Khan, Chairman of National Energy, Verlier Quan-Vie, Vice President of Commercial at National Gas Company, Adam Lowmass, Senior Vice President and Country Chair Trinidad and Tobago at Shell, and Elias Nucette, General Manager Venezuela at Shell, along with Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Stuart R. Young, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, visited the Dona Jose 2 vessel at Tembladora Port, Chaguaramas.
Minister Young noted that the monetization of the Dragon Gas Field will benefit every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago as the money earned from the energy sector significantly contributes to the maintenance and operation of hospitals, schools, transportation and utilities.
To remind, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela signed the agreement for the joint exploitation of gas in the territorial waters shared by the countries, as well as to work together on the Dragon field on September 21, 2023.
The Dragon field, which lies in Venezuelan waters near the maritime border with Trinidad, is said to hold up to 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.