Brief
OFAC has broadened the authorization governing transactions between US parties and Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. The measure does not remove all sanctions constraints: restrictions remain in place for Venezuelan debt, blocked assets, and dealings involving specified countries and entities. It also does not permit changes to CITGO’s corporate governance structure. The action therefore widens the scope for permitted operations while preserving key financial, counterparty, and governance safeguards.
The broader authorization could reduce sanctions-related friction for permitted oil-sector activity involving US parties. However, the debt, blocked-asset, counterparty, and CITGO carveouts indicate a selective opening rather than full normalization, leaving compliance screening central to any transaction involving PDVSA.
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Oil And Gas · El Diario
Sep 15, 2026
Watch for OFAC guidance clarifying which transactions are newly permitted, followed by disclosed US-PDVSA operations under the authorization and any later changes to the debt, blocked-asset, counterparty, or CITGO restrictions.