JESSE RAMDEO
Senior Reporter
Former Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, has defended his administration’s handling of the Dragon Gas Project, responding sharply to critics, including Attorney General John Jeremie, who claimed that hundreds of millions were spent with nothing to show for it.
And the former PM maintains that the details of the OFAC licence must not remain shrouded in mystery, and that government reveal the details to the public.
Speaking at a press conference, Dr Rowley outlined what he described as a “long, strategic, and determined pursuit” to secure access to gas from Venezuela’s Dragon Field.
He said it was an effort that began in 2016, and which culminated in the recent granting of an OFAC licence by the United States.
Dr Rowley traced the project’s timeline, noting that between 2017 and 2018, technical and commercial negotiations took place among Shell, PDVSA, and the National Gas Company (NGC), with then-minister Stuart Young among the key participants.
He said the process was disrupted in 2019 when U.S. sanctions effectively shut down the Dragon Project.
The former PM recalled that despite the sanctions, his government maintained diplomatic dialogue with Caracas.
By 2020, he said, discussions had reached a sensitive stage when Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez visited Trinidad and Tobago during the COVID-19 pandemic—a move that sparked controversy.
Dr Rowley insisted that his government’s efforts laid the foundation for the progress now being seen with the Dragon Gas Project and he dismissed claims of waste or mismanagement.