State oil company PDVSA discovered the field within the 12-trillion-cubic-feet (tcf) Mariscal Sucre project off Venezuela's eastern coast, with Dragon alone estimated to hold up to 4.2 tcf of resources. PDVSA verified its reserves and carried out production tests before development was paused. In December 2023, Venezuela granted Shell and Trinidad's National Gas Company (NGC) a 30-year license to produce the field, with Shell as operator.

Subsea wells in Venezuelan waters will tie into Shell's Hibiscus platform offshore Trinidad through a 17-km pipeline, with initial output of 185 million cubic feet per day. About 70% of production is earmarked for the Atlantic LNG export plant and the rest for Trinidad's petrochemical sector. A second stage would add a pipeline to the Venezuelan coast for domestic supply.

Shell signed agreements with the Venezuelan government covering Dragon in March, alongside technical and commercial deals with Venezuelan engineering firm VEPICA, KBR and Baker Hughes. In July, it began tendering for drilling services, with the contract taking effect once FID is reached. The drilling campaign and subsea pipeline are the nearest-term contracting opportunities at Dragon and will be a focus for service providers attending VEW 2027.

Gas reaching Atlantic LNG will be priced under a formula combining Brent crude with the TTF, JKM and Henry Hub gas benchmarks, within a commercial structure revised in 2024 to allow purchases from producers outside its shareholder group. The plant is reshaping its supply base, with shareholders agreeing in January to decommission its 4-million-ton-per-annum Train 1 after declines in Trinidad's gas output. Alongside Shell's 1.7-tcf Loran Phase 1 tie-back, Dragon is building a base of Venezuelan supply into Trinidad.

With drilling planned for 2027 and a short tie-back into an operating export plant, Dragon offers investors one of the most direct paths to Venezuelan gas exports. VEW 2027 will convene PDVSA, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and the companies developing Venezuela's eastern offshore as the field approaches its investment decision.

Venezuela Energy Week 2027 takes place February 22–25 at the Simon Bolivar Convention Center in Caracas. Organized by Energy Capital & Power and taking place under the patronage of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, PDVSA and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, VEW is the country's flagship oil and gas investment platform. To register or learn more about sponsorship and speaking opportunities, visit www.venezuelaenergyweek.com.