Shell says US general licenses for exploration in Venezuela will allow it to progress with Dragon natural gas project

By Curtis Williams and Shadia Nasralla

HOUSTON/LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - General licenses for oil and gas exploration in Venezuela issued by the U.S. this month will allow Shell SHEL.L to progress with its Dragon gas project, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

The project, envisioned to produce gas from a field in Venezuelan waters with 4.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves, has been beset by starts and stops over previous years as U.S. policy toward Venezuela has shifted.

"The issuance of the recent general licenses is a positive signal, and it, indeed, allows for progress on our Dragon project," the company spokesperson told Reuters.

Shell hopes to eventually export gas from Venezuela via the Atlantic LNG facility in nearby Trinidad and Tobago. While the spokesperson said the company does not generally comment on potential dates for final investment decisions, CEO Wael Sawan recently said Shell hopes to produce gas from Venezuela's Dragon field in three years.

Shell is a 45% shareholder in Atlantic LNG, with BP BP.L also owning 45% and NGC 10%. The plant, which has the capacity to produce 12 million metric tonnes per annum, exported only 9 MT in 2025 due to gas supply shortages, data from financial firm LSEG show.

Output from Atlantic LNG was 10% of Shell's global LNG production and 15% of BP's LNG exports in 2025, according to LSEG data.