The department's press service recalled that at the end of January and in February, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had already issued licenses for American companies to sell Venezuelan oil, supply Venezuela with critical diluents for oil production, and supply equipment, technologies and services for modernizing oil and gas infrastructure.
The licenses, adopted on February 13, allow for conditional investment contracts with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and allow certain companies to expand operations and launch new projects.
“Venezuela has enormous economic potential, but years of instability, corruption, and economic mismanagement have limited the country's growth and prosperity. These general licenses invite U.S. and other related companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment. Additional permits may also be issued as needed to realize the President's vision [США Дональда] Trump,” the release said. In addition, it expressed hopes that “Venezuela can once again become a stable, successful partner” of the United States.
Reuters noted that the United States is easing sanctions to provide oil giants with greater opportunities to operate in Venezuela. According to the agency, permission was received by Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell, and Repsol. However, all payments for royalties and taxes must go through a special fund under US supervision, and new contracts with state-owned PDVSA require separate approvals. The media also wrote that the license provides for a ban on cooperation with companies from the aggressor country of Russia, Iran and China.
Reform of Venezuela's oil laws gives foreign companies more autonomy in production and export, the article says. It also recalls that sales of Venezuelan oil after the arrest of the country's President Nicolas Maduro have already brought in more than a billion dollars; the funds are channeled through a fund in Qatar to the interim government, which has sparked discussions in the United States about the transparency and corruption risks of such operations.
Context
On the night of January 3, the United States conducted a special operation in Caracas, during which Maduro and his wife Celia Flores were detained and taken out of Venezuela. According to CBS, they were captured by the elite special forces unit of the US Army, Delta. Maduro and Flores appeared in court in New York.
According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Internal Affairs, 100 people died due to the US special operation. Bild wrote that Trump could have a secret deal with Maduro’s entourage.
Trump at a briefing on January 3 said that the United States will lead Venezuela until the authorities there change. On January 4, Bloomberg, citing a source, wrote that the US Secretary of State and acting. National Security Adviser Marco Rubio will play a leading role in governing Venezuela.
On January 5, Politico reported that the White House is demanding at least three things from Delcy Rodriguez (the acting president of Venezuela): getting tough on drug trafficking, expelling Iranian, Cuban and other operatives from countries or networks hostile to Washington, and stopping oil sales to US adversaries.
