BP Secures License for Loran Gas Field in Partnership with XRG and UCC Holding

BP has secured a license to explore and develop the second phase of Venezuela's Loran gas field, partnering with XRG and UCC Holding. The agreement grants the BP-led group rights to produce up to 4 trillion cubic feet of gas in Loran, whose total reserves are estimated at 7.3 TCF.

BP will operate the project, holding equal working interests with UCC Holding's oil and gas unit and XRG. The partnership is seen as a strategic move for BP, which has inked a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's government in April to cooperate in exploration and development in the Plataforma Deltana offshore project.

Loran extends into the Shell-operated Manatee field in Trinidad and Tobago, where Venezuela's gas plans to be industrialized and turned into LNG. Together, the fields hold 10 TCF of recoverable gas, with Shell already developing Manatee and expected to produce first gas next year.