The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new license Thursday granting American oil companies expanded authority to operate in Venezuela, marking a significant shift in American involvement in the country’s energy sector following the collapse of its longtime socialist regime.
The license authorizes American companies to engage in a wide range of activities involving Venezuelan-origin oil, including buying, selling, transporting, refining, and exporting petroleum products. However, the authorization does not lift existing American sanctions on oil production itself, nor does it permit transactions involving Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, or North Korea.
Under the license’s terms, companies exporting Venezuelan oil to destinations outside the United States must submit detailed, recurring reports to both the State Department and the Department of Energy outlining the nature of those transactions.
A White House official told Reuters the new license is intended to help move existing oil supplies and suggested additional sanctions-related announcements could follow soon.
The policy change comes at a time of sweeping reforms to Venezuela’s oil sector. Earlier this month, American authorities took control of Venezuelan oil exports following a January 3 law enforcement operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. In the aftermath, President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela — now led by acting president Delcy Rodríguez — would cooperate with the United States to boost oil output, allow American companies to operate inside the country, and sell oil to American markets.
Last week, Trump confirmed aboard Air Force One that American companies would begin drilling Venezuelan oil “very soon.”
American oversight of Venezuelan oil exports has already disrupted China’s longstanding access to heavily discounted Venezuelan crude. China’s state-owned oil company PetroChina has reportedly scaled back purchases as the Trump administration signaled it would only permit sales at standard international market prices, rather than the deeply discounted rates previously offered under Maduro.
The OFAC license was issued the same day Venezuela’s socialist-controlled National Assembly unanimously approved a sweeping overhaul of the country’s hydrocarbons law. The reforms dismantle decades of restrictive socialist controls, open the oil sector to private investment, recognize international arbitration in investment disputes, and simplify taxes.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez hailed the vote as a turning point for the country’s economy, predicting oil production would “skyrocket” under the new legal framework. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez echoed that message during an event Thursday night, inviting both foreign and domestic investment in Venezuela’s oil, gas, and petrochemical industries.
“No transnational hydrocarbons sector should feel left out,” Rodríguez said. “We welcome foreign investment and national investment for productive development.”
The OFAC license represents a major step in the Trump administration’s strategy to reshape Venezuela’s energy sector, restore production capacity, and bring the country’s vast oil reserves back into U.S.-aligned global markets while maintaining pressure on hostile foreign powers.
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