The US eased sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to resume oil and gas operations in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts on investments in new energy operations.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to resume oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country.
The authorization for the oil majors' resumption of operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with state oil company PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The move was the biggest relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro last month.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration.
Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela's oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro's capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a "representative government."
Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government seized assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was "uninvestable" at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
