US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze

Petroleos de Venezuela SAAdd to myFTGet instant alerts for this topicManage your delivery channels hereRemove from myFTUS relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeezeLicence allows nation’s state oil group to sell directly to American companies and on international market The move comes as the Trump administration seeks to promote investment in oil-rich Venezuela following the arrest of socialist leader Nicolás Maduro © Jose Bula Urrutia/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesUS relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on x (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on facebook (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on linkedin (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on x (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on facebook (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on linkedin (opens in a new window)US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Joe Daniels in BogotáPublishedMarch 18 2026Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThe US has relaxed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil group Petróleos de Venezuela, as the Trump administration seeks to open up the South American country’s oil sector and alleviate the global energy crunch caused by the Iran war.A general licence issued on Wednesday by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) allows the company to sell oil directly to US companies and on the global market, although payments must be sent to US-controlled accounts set up to manage Venezuelan oil sales.“This licence will benefit both the United States and Venezuela, while supporting the global energy market by increasing the supply of available oil,” a US Treasury spokesperson said. “It will also help incentivise new investment in Venezuela’s energy sector.”The move comes as the Trump administration seeks to promote investment in oil-rich Venezuela following the abduction and arrest in January of socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, who is facing drug-trafficking charges in New York.The licence does not allow transactions relating to PDVSA’s bonds and debt or those that could involve the transfer of equity of its subsidiaries © Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty ImagesBut experts have warned it could take years to revitalise Venezuela’s dilapidated oil sector. Big international energy companies have expressed scepticism about investing significant funds in the country in the near term without security and financial guarantees.Interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s deputy and oil minister, received Trump’s backing to shepherd in business-friendly reforms, and has begun opening up the oil sector. Rodríguez on Wednesday also announced that she would replace longtime defence minister Vladimir Padrino with Gustavo González López, a loyalist, in a move that will consolidate her power. Venezuela’s oil sales are currently being managed by Washington in US-controlled accounts, with proceeds disbursed to Rodríguez’s government.Rodríguez in late January signed a new hydrocarbons law that weakens PDVSA’s grip on the sector by allowing private companies to operate wells directly, while lowering the government’s tax take and allowing for international arbitration in case of disputes.Venezuela has also announced agreements with big international energy groups including Shell, Repsol and Eni.Under Maduro’s populist predecessor Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 until his death from cancer in 2013, Venezuela expropriated assets belonging to US oil companies including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, while installing political and military allies at PDVSA.Delcy Rodríguez in January signed a new hydrocarbons law that weakens PDVSA’s grip on the sector by allowing private companies to operate wells directly © Gaby Oraa/ReutersThe licence issued on Wednesday allows the provision of goods, services and technologies to the Venezuelan oil sector, including diluents that are required to process the country’s heavy crude.It does not allow transactions relating to PDVSA’s bonds and debt or those that could involve the transfer of equity of its subsidiaries, including its US-based refiner Citgo, which a US court ordered to be auctioned to satisfy more than $20bn in claims by creditors over Chávez-era expropriations. Amber Energy, a subsidiary of US activist hedge fund Elliott Management, is awaiting final Ofac approval after it won the auction in November.Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at about 300bn barrels, and pumped roughly 3mn barrels a day at the turn of the century, though years of corruption and mismanagement led production to collapse to about 500,000 b/d in 2020. US sanctions imposed during Trump’s first administration complicated the outlook. Production last year rose to about 950,000 b/d, buoyed by Chevron, which has a licence to operate in the country and boosted production at its joint ventures with PDVSA to about 240,000 b/d.Venezuelan industry insiders said the country stood to gain from the war in the Middle East, with the Brent crude benchmark reaching almost $110 a barrel on Wednesday after Iran’s South Pars gasfield — the world’s largest — was struck by missiles. PDVSA’s Amuay oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela © Beatty Laura Zapata/BloombergThe Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a huge proportion of Gulf oil and gas exports flow, remains largely closed.“When you’ve got 20 million barrels a day building up in the Middle East, that’s going to add to expectations that Venezuela makes up some of the difference,” said Reinaldo Quintero, vice-president of Caracas-based engineering firm Vepica and an energy policy adviser to the government-controlled National Assembly. He added that “when you’ve got oil trading at above $100 a barrel, that’s going to mean more income and the pressure to accelerate projects in a region that has always been safer than the Middle East”.The US on Wednesday also announced a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, which requires that goods transported between US ports are moved on US-flagged vessels. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the waiver would mitigate disruptions to the oil market and “allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertiliser and coal to flow freely to US ports”.Additional reporting by Steff Chávez and Myles McCormick in Washington Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section Follow the topics in this article Oil & Gas industry Add to myFT US foreign policy Add to myFT Petroleos de Venezuela SA Add to myFT Venezuela Add to myFT Joe Daniels Add to myFT Comments