The U.S. Department of the Treasury has eased restrictions allowing American companies to operate in Venezuela’s oil market, although under strict oversight and reporting conditions.
Through two licenses published on its website — one authorizing the trade of hydrocarbons and another covering the use of airports and ports — the Treasury has relaxed, though not lifted, the sanctions tightened in 2019 that still weigh on the Caribbean nation. The measures ease restrictions on Venezuela’s natural resources, including oil and gas, enabling U.S. companies to trade them.
The licenses include strict conditions to prevent direct benefits to the Venezuelan government, such as requiring that any contracts with Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) or the State be governed by U.S. law and that any disputes be resolved in U.S. courts.
In addition, payments to individuals under U.S. sanctions must be made into Treasury-designated accounts to ensure “centralized financial control.”
Companies using the license to export or supply Venezuelan oil to countries other than the United States must submit detailed reports to the administration of President Donald Trump.
Those reports must specify the parties involved, volumes, values, destinations, and any payments made to the Venezuelan government, with an initial report due ten days after the first transaction and subsequent filings every 90 days.
The Treasury also approved a separate license authorizing operations related to ports and airports in Venezuela.
The document permits “ordinary and necessary” transactions for the use of logistical infrastructure, ranging from landing fees and airport services to port operations such as docking, provided such activities are essential for transportation and logistics and do not involve sanctioned individuals or entities not covered by established exemptions.
The Treasury’s authorization comes five weeks after a military operation in which the United States detained Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and transferred him to New York to face drug trafficking-related charges.
Following Maduro’s removal, Trump has said that U.S. oil companies will return to Venezuela’s oil market and invest around $10 billion to modernize infrastructure.
Until now, Chevron had been the only U.S. oil company with a special license to operate in Venezuela.
