LatAmOil: Deals heat up before Venezuelan election amid domestic industry challenges

In a significant move to tap into its vast gas reserves, Venezuela has granted a 20-year licence to British energy giant BP and Trinidad and Tobago's state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) to develop the Venezuelan portion of the Cocuina-Manakin offshore gas field.

The field, part of the dormant Plataforma Deltana project, boasts proven reserves of 1 trillion cubic feet (28.3bn cubic metres), Reuters reported. 

The joint development will see BP and NGC operating on the Venezuelan side, while BP's Trinidad unit will manage operations in Trinidad and Tobago's waters.

Venezuela's natural gas industry faces critical challenges.  

Despite possessing Latin America's largest gas reserves, Venezuela's output has plummeted from nearly 8bn cubic feet (227 mcm per day in 2016 to a mere 4 bcf (113 mcm) in 2024, according to Gas Energy Latin America.