CARACAS, Jan 4, 2026, 12:46 ET
Italy’s Eni said on Sunday its natural gas operations in Venezuela have not been affected by Saturday’s U.S. strikes that captured President Nicolas Maduro, as energy companies assessed security and sanctions risk after Washington said it would oversee a political transition. 1
The scramble matters because U.S. sanctions cover Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, forcing foreign operators to rely on U.S. authorizations — licenses that dictate whether projects can move, pay PDVSA, or export supplies. One of the biggest near-term prizes is gas, not crude: planned cross-border volumes that Trinidad and Tobago has sought to secure for its gas-dependent economy. 2
Shell has aimed to start producing gas at Venezuela’s Dragon field and export it to Trinidad in 2026, Reuters has reported, a timeline driven by shortages at Trinidad’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants — facilities that chill gas into liquid for shipping. Atlantic LNG produced 8.5 million metric tons in 2024, about 4 million tons below installed capacity because of insufficient gas, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. 3
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States would put Venezuela under temporary American control after the raid that seized Maduro and took him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The overnight operation knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, Trump said. 4
Venezuela’s oil exports are now paralyzed as port captains have not received requests to authorize loaded ships to set sail, four people close to operations told Reuters, highlighting the operational uncertainty around the country’s energy logistics. No tankers were loading on Saturday at the main oil port of Jose, TankerTrackers.com said. 5
The U.S. Treasury authorization that revived the Dragon talks in October was structured in stages, with an initial phase allowing negotiations with Venezuela and PDVSA through April 2026 and requiring U.S. companies to be included, Trinidad’s attorney general said at the time. The same Reuters report said previous U.S. authorizations barred cash payments to Maduro’s government. 6
Politics has repeatedly reset the project. In October, Maduro said Venezuela had suspended energy-development cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago — a move Reuters said would likely mean revoking the license to develop Dragon — after Caracas accused Trinidad’s new government of taking a pro-U.S. stance. 7
Venezuela’s state-run oil production and refining were operating normally and suffered no damage from the U.S. attack, two sources with knowledge of PDVSA’s operations told Reuters, though the port of La Guaira near Caracas was reported to have suffered severe damage. Trump had announced a blockade of oil tankers in December and the U.S. seized two cargoes of Venezuelan oil, Reuters reported. 8
But a fast rebound in cross-border gas work is far from assured, even if fields and platforms keep running. “History shows that forced regime change rarely stabilises oil supply quickly, with Libya and Iraq offering clear and sobering precedents,” said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, in a Reuters analysis. 9
Markets and regional energy buyers are watching Maduro’s initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, Jan. 5, which a U.S. Justice Department official told Reuters was expected. Investors are also looking for the next U.S. policy signal on the sanctions waivers that govern whether gas projects such as Dragon can proceed beyond negotiations. 10
