Shell, Chevron, and Russia: The Three-Way Contest Over Venezuela’s Offshore Gas
Key Facts
— — Shell is in advanced negotiations with Venezuela’s Rodríguez government to develop four major offshore gas zones totaling approximately 20 trillion cubic feet of reserves
— — A final investment decision on the flagship Dragon field (4.2 tcf) could come by year-end, with gas piped to Trinidad for LNG export through Atlantic LNG — Latin America’s largest liquefaction plant
— — Chevron is ceding stakes in the cross-border Loran field as part of a swap for Orinoco Belt heavy oil access, but Russian stakes in two fields via Roszarubezhneft remain an obstacle
Shell is pursuing an aggressive expansion of its Shell Venezuela gas footprint, with advanced talks underway to develop four major offshore zones in two of the country’s largest marine gas fields. The combined reserves under discussion — spanning the Mariscal Sucre project and the cross-border Loran field — total approximately 20 trillion cubic feet, according to sources involved in the negotiations.
In March, Shell executives signed preliminary agreements in Caracas with interim president Delcy Rodríguez’s administration covering the flagship Dragon field (4.2 tcf) and potentially two onshore oil-and-gas assets — Carito and Pirital. A final investment decision on Dragon could come by the end of 2026.
The Trinidad Pipeline
Shell’s strategy centers on piping Venezuelan gas to Trinidad and Tobago for processing at Atlantic LNG — Latin America’s largest liquefaction facility, in which Shell holds a 45% stake. The plant was originally designed for 15.5 million metric tons per year but has been operating at roughly 12 million due to insufficient gas supply. Last year, actual exports fell below 9 million metric tons.
The Mariscal Sucre fields — Dragon, Río Caribe, Patao, and Mejillones — sit closer to Trinidad’s infrastructure than to Venezuela’s. At just six miles at the nearest point, the geography makes cross-border development a natural fit. Shell CEO Wael Sawan told the CERAWeek conference in Houston last week that the company could greenlight up to two Venezuelan projects this year if fiscal and legal conditions improve.
Chevron Steps Aside, Russia Remains
The 7.3 tcf Loran field straddles the maritime border between Venezuela and Trinidad. Shell already operates the Trinidad side (Manatee) and wants to consolidate the Venezuelan side by drilling subsea wells and connecting them to its existing Manatee platform. Chevron, which held stakes in two blocks covering Loran, is ceding those positions as part of a broader deal to expand its Orinoco Belt heavy crude operations.
The more complex obstacle involves Russia. PDVSA previously awarded stakes in Patao and Mejillones to Rosneft, which transferred them to state entity Roszarubezhneft in 2020. The fields remain undeveloped, but the Russian ownership creates a legal and geopolitical complication that Shell must navigate before consolidating the full Mariscal Sucre package.
A Shell source expressed confidence: “The assignment of the fields to the Russian company is a problem, but we will get past it. I’m sure.”
The Bigger Picture
Shell’s push into Venezuela comes as the Iran conflict has tightened global LNG markets and pushed energy security to the top of government agendas across the Caribbean and Latin America. Venezuela’s vast offshore gas reserves — among the largest in the Western Hemisphere — have been stranded for decades by sanctions, underinvestment, and political instability.
The post-Maduro opening under Rodríguez, combined with the Iran-driven supply crunch, may finally create the conditions for development. For Trinidad’s energy sector and Caribbean energy security, the stakes are existential: Atlantic LNG’s viability depends on new gas supply, and Venezuela is the only realistic source at the scale required.
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