* Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) has signed an agreement with Trinidad & Tobago’s state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) and the British multinational oil firm Shell to exploit Venezuela’s offshore Dragón natural gas fields. Production at the Dragón gas fields has been stalled for over a decade due to low investment and the impact of US sanctions, which were suspended in October. Trinidad & Tobago has long expressed interest in importing Venezuelan gas to support its petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants. Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said at the signing of the agreement in Caracas that the joint venture “marks a historic moment for Venezuela, because for the first time we’re going to produce and export gas”.