Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, has commended Prime Minister Gaston Browne for his crucial role in the awarding of a license by Venezuela to develop and export gas from the Dragon gas field to the Caribbean nation.

The deal was officially signed last week after the Office of Foreign Assets Control License was granted in Washington, D.C., by the United States government.

In his statement, Rowley praised Browne, along with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Guyanese Prime Minister Ifran Ali, for their pivotal role in making the deal possible.

He specifically identified Browne and his colleagues for speaking out on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago to support the country’s position.

The Dragon gas field is located in Venezuelan waters near the maritime border between the two countries.

The project marks the first time Venezuela will produce and export gas, and Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez was quoted as saying that the project is a significant milestone for the country.

The state-owned oil company, PDVSA, confirmed that Trinidadian energy minister Stuart Young will work hand in hand with the Venezuelan government, with NGC and Shell also participating in the project.

However, there were no details on the participation of each company.

The license was granted two months after the United States eased sanctions on Venezuela, allowing the OPEC country to export crude and natural gas to its chosen markets.

Washington had issued a special license to Trinidad for Dragon, and it was amended in October to allow Venezuela to receive cash from the gas sales.

Trinidad has been trying to gain access to gas from the field to ramp up its exports of LNG and petrochemicals, which have been hindered in recent years due to a lack of domestic supply.

The Dragon gas field was proposed by PDVSA about a decade ago when production tests were made, and a gas line was partially built.

However, it was not commercially developed due to a lack of partners, investment, and, more recently, U.S. sanctions.