The US Treasury Department has authorized a number of deals involving Venezuelan state-owned company PdVSA to supply oil to the US market, the text of the license states.
The document specifies that all deals prohibited by sanctions regulations against Venezuela are authorized. These deals include transactions involving the Venezuelan government, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), or any entities in which PdVSA directly or indirectly owns 50% or more of the stake.
The document allows US companies to carry out any standard commercial transactions involving Venezuelan oil, from purchasing and storing to transporting and refining, provided that these transactions are necessary for the subsequent import of the product into the US.
However, the text of the license emphasizes that it does not apply to transactions involving persons from Russia, Iran, North Korea or Cuba, or those registered under the laws of these countries.
In late January, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would direct the proceeds from the sales of Venezuelan oil to a blocked account and monitor their expenditure. The sale of the first batch of Venezuelan oil from the US worth $500 million was announced on January 15.