BP has secured rights to explore and develop the second phase of Venezuela’s offshore Loran gas field through a partnership with UAE-based XRG and UCC Oil and Gas of Qatar.
BP will operate Loran Phase 2, with all three partners holding equal working interests in the project.
The licence gives the consortium rights to produce up to four trillion cubic feet of gas from Loran, where total reserves on the Venezuelan side have been estimated at 7.3 trillion cubic feet.
The award follows the granting of the first-phase licence to Shell in June. BP said the two phases are expected to be developed in parallel.
Loran extends across the maritime boundary into the Shell-operated Manatee field in Trinidad and Tobago. Together, the connected resource forms part of a wider effort to bring new offshore gas into Trinidad’s existing energy system.
Shell expects production from Manatee to begin in 2027. The connection is commercially important because Trinidad already has LNG and petrochemical infrastructure capable of processing additional gas, reducing the need to create an entirely separate export system around the Venezuelan resource.
The Phase 2 award builds on a memorandum of understanding signed between BP and the Venezuelan government in April covering exploration and development cooperation in the Plataforma Deltana offshore area, which includes Loran.
BP and Venezuelan officials have also signed a memorandum of understanding to assess exploration opportunities at the Carupano East block in the Mariscal Sucre offshore area.
The agreements add another international operator to Venezuela’s efforts to develop offshore gas resources alongside its much larger oil sector.
Gas projects require a different commercial chain from crude production. Offshore fields need processing, transport infrastructure, long-term buyers, and potentially liquefaction capacity before reserves can translate into export revenue.
Loran’s proximity to Trinidad creates an established route towards that infrastructure, although development remains dependent on engineering, approvals, commercial agreements, and investment decisions.
For BP, the project adds another upstream gas opportunity at a time when major energy groups are balancing hydrocarbon investment, shareholder returns, debt, and longer-term transition spending.
Large offshore gas fields can provide long-duration production, but they also require considerable capital before first output. The partnership with XRG and UCC spreads that exposure between three investors while leaving BP responsible for operations.
XRG has been expanding an international gas and LNG portfolio, giving the Loran agreement a broader strategic context beyond the Venezuelan licence itself. The involvement of Gulf-based capital alongside British operating expertise also reflects the increasingly international ownership structures behind large energy projects.
Geopolitics remains inseparable from the commercial case. Venezuelan energy development has historically been affected by sanctions, political relations, and changes in the permissions available to international operators.
That means resource size alone is not sufficient to determine development pace. Regulatory certainty, cross-border arrangements, financing, and access to processing infrastructure will influence when Loran gas ultimately reaches market.
Regional demand adds another consideration. Trinidad has been seeking additional feedstock for LNG and petrochemical facilities as its domestic gas production has declined, giving nearby Venezuelan discoveries potential value beyond their own reserves.
BP has not announced a final investment timetable for Phase 2. The immediate development is the award of exploration and development rights and the establishment of the equal partnership with XRG and UCC.
With Shell progressing Manatee and Loran Phase 1, the latest licence puts a second part of the Venezuelan field onto a defined development path. The commercial outcome will depend on whether the operators can convert those licences into integrated production across the maritime boundary and into Trinidad’s processing system.
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