The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on February 10 issued General License 48, General License 30B, and General License 46A, expanding and refining authorizations under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations.
On Friday, 15 February OFAC issued
Venezuela-related General License 49, "Authorizing Negotiations of and Entry Into Contingent Contracts for Certain Investment in Venezuela;" and
Venezuela-related General License 50, "Authorizing Transactions Related to Oil or Gas Sector Operations in Venezuela of Certain Entities."
General License 48 [Link] authorizes transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision by U.S. persons of goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in Venezuela, including dealings with the Government of Venezuela and PdVSA-related entities, subject to contractual governance under U.S. law and routing of certain payments into designated U.S. government accounts.
The authorization encompasses logistics, insurance, port services, and maintenance or repair of oil-sector equipment, while prohibiting non-commercial payment structures, transactions involving specified sanctioned jurisdictions, dealings with blocked vessels, formation of new Venezuelan joint ventures, and exports of diluents.
Reporting of transaction details is required within ten days of the first transaction and every 90 days thereafter while activity continues.
General License 30B [link] authorizes transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the operation or use of ports and airports in Venezuela, including dealings with the maritime authority INEA and entities it controls, while preserving broader sanctions prohibitions against other blocked persons.
The license replaces and supersedes prior General License 30A in its entirety effective February 10 2026.
General License 46A supersedes the January 29 2026 authorization and continues to permit transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the lifting, refining, export, sale, storage, and transportation of Venezuelan-origin oil by an “established U.S. entity.”
The amended license [Link] maintains contractual U.S.-law governance, payment routing requirements for blocked persons, and detailed reporting obligations for exports outside the United States, including recurring 90-day filings.
It also bars non-commercial payment structures, dealings involving certain sanctioned jurisdictions or China-linked ownership structures, unblocking of property, and transactions involving blocked vessels.
The new and amended licenses broaden operational authorizations across oil production inputs, logistics infrastructure, and downstream crude transactions, while preserving contractual controls, counterparty restrictions, and reporting requirements central to sanctions compliance.
The measures signal a calibrated adjustment of U.S. sanctions policy toward Venezuela’s energy sector without fully lifting core blocking authorities.
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