Americas News
US Eases Venezuelan Oil Sanctions After Country Opens Sector to Privatisation
The US has approved limited transactions involving Venezuelan oil after the country’s government decided to open its oil sector to private investment.
Delcy Rodriguez, acting president of Venezuela, on Thursday signed a law that will allow greater private participation in the oil industry, ending more than two decades of tight state control, according to media reports.
Following the move, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday issued General License 46, which authorises certain activities involving Venezuelan-origin oil by established US entities.
The authorisation applies to transactions involving the Government of Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), or entities majority-owned by PdVSA, provided contracts are governed by US law.
“Any contract for such transactions with the Government of Venezuela, PdVSA, or PdVSA Entities specifies that the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States govern the contract and that any dispute resolution under the contract occur in the United States,” OFAC said.
The licence allows oil to be lifted, transported, sold and refined, and also covers related shipping activities such as vessel chartering, marine insurance and port services.
The licence does not permit transactions involving entities linked to Russia, China, Iran, Cuba or North Korea, or any dealings involving blocked vessels.
