The US' exercise of power over Venezuela's energy sector has again raised the possibility of Venezuela's sizable natural gas supplies reaching the regional market, although significant obstacles remain.
Neighboring Colombia could use any Venezuela gas supplies to reduce its LNG imports as its own production has declined, and nearby Trinidad and Tobago could boost its LNG exports.
Colombia over the last decade has increasingly relied on more expensive LNG imports to cover a shortfall of domestic gas supply. The country imported 1.38mn t of LNG last year, down from 1.75mn t in 2024 but up from none in 2015, Kpler data show. Colombia's state-controlled Ecopetrol asked the government to loosen restrictions on buying Venezuelan gas in October.
The 500mn ft³/d Antonio Ricaurte pipeline, initially launched in 2007, would flow gas between Colombia and Venezuela, but the line requires $35mn-40mn in repairs. Part of the pipeline has been partially dismantled on Colombia's side and requires maintenance on Venezuela's side.
But an eventual resumption of flows could free up LNG cargoes to go elsewhere. Colombia's annual imports averaged 1.3mn t from 2023-2025, equivalent to about 1.5 cargoes/month assuming a 72,500t cargo size. About 62pc of Colombia's imports in that span came from the US, and the remainder from Trinidad and Tobago, Kpler data show.
Trinidad and Tobago could also stand to benefit if Venezuela's gas sector opens up to outside investment. Trinidad's 11.8mn t/yr (1.6bn ft³/d) Atlantic LNG export terminal, majority owned by Shell and BP, has exported below capacity in recent years because of production declines, shipping out 7.8mn t in 2024, Kpler data show. Domestic output in January-August 2025 was 2.6bn ft³/d, down from a 4.3bn ft³/d peak in 2010.
The country has sought to jointly develop Venezuela's offshore Dragon field with Shell and received a license in October to do so after a back-and-forth with the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Former president Joe Biden's administration first permitted the development, but the Trump administration revoked the license last year. OFAC later reinstated the license for a six-month period that ends in April 2026.
BP had a license to develop another shared field, the Cocuina/Manakin, but it also was revoked under the Trump administration. BP has a permit only for the Manakin segment in Trinidad's waters.
