Shell’s recent move to develop Venezuela’s Loran gas field could catalyze the creation of a massive Caribbean gas corridor centered on Trinidad and Tobago’s existing energy infrastructure. On June 11, Venezuela signed five strategic agreements with the energy giant, formalizing Shell's participation in the first phase of Loran’s development and covering additional oil and gas activities in the region.
Rystad Energy highlighted this in its LatAm Upstream Pulse, a monthly commentary series covering regional projects and trends. OilNow reported that the research firm identified Shell’s move into the Loran field as one of the five major developments shaping Latin America’s upstream sector in June.
The Loran field, which contains an estimated 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, extends across the maritime boundary between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. The portion of the reservoir located in Trinidadian waters is known as the Manatee field. According to research firm Rystad Energy, developing Loran will effectively connect Venezuela’s vast offshore gas resources with the currently available liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity in Trinidad and Tobago. This initiative builds upon the ongoing progress at both the neighboring Manatee field and Venezuela’s Dragon project.
Emphasizing the long-term regional impact, Rystad Energy noted that Loran functions less as a standalone field and more as the missing piece in a regional gas hub strategy. By linking Venezuela’s rich resource base with Trinidad’s underutilized LNG infrastructure, the firm concluded that if Loran follows the Dragon and Manatee fields into development, the Caribbean could emerge as a highly significant global gas corridor within the next decade.