UAE and Qatar Invest in Venezuelan Loran Gas Field

Investment firms from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have entered the Venezuelan energy market through a natural gas project operated by BP Plc. XRG, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., secured a license for the Loran field, a Caribbean gas deposit shared between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

XRG will hold a working interest alongside BP and Qatar's UCC Oil and Gas Holding LLC to extract over 4 trillion cubic feet of gas. The project is designed to replenish feedstock for petrochemical and fertilizer plants in Trinidad and Tobago.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez celebrated the agreement as a method of driving forward gas production. The deal follows the January capture of Nicolás Maduro and indicates that the Venezuelan government intends to honor energy agreements negotiated before his ouster. This move comes amid global energy supply disruptions resulting from hostilities between the United States and Iran.