OFAC amends licenses for Venezuelan energy and petrochemical activity

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2026 — The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended three general licenses governing specified transactions involving Venezuela’s oil, gas, petrochemical and electricity sectors. The licenses took effect immediately and replaced earlier versions.

General License 46E authorizes established US entities to conduct transactions ordinarily necessary to import Venezuelan-origin oil and petrochemical products into the United States. Covered activity includes refining, storage, marketing, transportation, shipping, insurance and port services. Petrochemical products include fertilizer and fertilizer precursor chemicals.

General License 48D allows goods, technology, software and services to be supplied from the United States or by US persons for Venezuelan oil, gas and petrochemical exploration, development or production. It also covers the generation, transmission, storage and distribution of electricity, including maintenance and repairs. The license does not authorize new joint ventures or exports or reexports of diluents to Venezuela.

General License 49B permits negotiations and contingent contracts for new investment in those sectors, including agreements to expand existing operations or form new joint ventures. Performance of any contract remains subject to separate OFAC authorization. Permitted preliminary work includes commercial, legal, technical, safety and environmental due diligence.

Contracts with the Venezuelan government, Petróleos de Venezuela, or entities at least 50% owned by the state oil company must specify dispute resolution in the United States, United Kingdom, France or Singapore under licenses 46E and 48D. Most monetary payments to blocked persons must be directed to Treasury-specified accounts.

The authorizations exclude blocked vessels and do not unblock property. They also restrict transactions involving specified links to Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and China, although the China-related terms vary by license.

Licenses 46E and 48D impose reporting requirements for covered transactions. Initial reports are due 10 days after the first transaction, followed by reports every 90 days while activity continues. The amended licenses replace General Licenses 46D, 48C and 49A.