Washington Broadens Oil Deal Access with Venezuela After Sanctions Shift

US Lifts Some Sanctions on Venezuela’s Oil Industry to Ease Trade

The Trump administration on Thursday eased certain sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, allowing US companies to buy, sell, transport, store, and refine Venezuelan crude. Officials said additional sanctions relief would follow soon.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) emphasized that the move does not lift existing restrictions on production but is aimed at increasing the flow of Venezuelan oil to the market. An initial deal already allows the sale of 50 million barrels, with European trading houses Vitol and Trafigura handling marketing.

The new license applies only to US entities and excludes firms from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba. It permits a wide range of operations—including refining, transportation, and marketing—while maintaining commercial safeguards, such as prohibiting unconventional payment methods or debt swaps.

Analysts described the authorization as an “America First” approach, offering broad operational flexibility for US companies while limiting foreign participation.

The license coincides with Venezuela’s approval of a reform to its main oil law, granting more autonomy to private producers and formalizing a production-sharing model introduced by President Nicolas Maduro. Experts warn that excluding Russian and Chinese ventures—which produce roughly 22% of Venezuelan output—could complicate PDVSA’s operations.

Industry observers said the move could accelerate US investment and exports, which had been slowed by prior individual license requests.