Maduro blasts US decision to grant oil license to Trinidad and Tobago

Venezuela has condemned the decision by the United States to grant licenses to countries and companies to resume taking crude oil from Caracas on the condition no funds be paid to Venezuela

President Nicolas Maduro in a broadcast, remained critical of Washington's decision to exempt companies doing business with sanctioned Venezuelan state firms from paying cash to his administration

On January 24, the Trinidad and Tobago government welcomed the decision by the United States Treasury Department to grant a license to Port of Spain to develop a major gas field located in Venezuelan territorial waters

“The United States government has today approved Trinidad and Tobago's development of the Dragon gas field via an OFAC waiver from sanctions with specific terms to be finalized,” Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said

What this means is that the restrictions on the Dragon gas fields development are now relieved and all relevant parties can progress the plans to result in natural gas from Venezuela eventually flowing for the first time from these proven reserves to Trinidad and Tobago and then on to Caribbean, European, and other markets bringing much humanitarian benefits to the Venezuelan population and greater energy security to the Caribbean region”

Venezuela has not said publicly if it will negotiate with Trinidad and Tobago, and Rowley acknowledged that there is “still a lot more work to be done”

The US license means Trinidad and Tobago will be allowed to resume doing business with Venezuelan heavily sanctioned state-run oil company PDVSA, even though the Maduro regime in Caracas will not be permitted to receive any cash payments from this project

In his broadcast on Thursday, President Maduro criticized the U S Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which issued the licenses, and said it is trying to dictate how to do business with Venezuela state and private companies

“It is a joke to sovereign countries I call sovereign countries and governments in America and the Caribbean to denounce this colonial model. We do not accept it, we will go on our way,” he said without elaborating PDVSA has found reserves of 4 2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in the Dragon field, on the Venezuelan side of its maritime border with Trinidad The project was headed for production over a decade ago, but stalled over lack of capital and partners, as well as sanctions