OFAC ISSUES GENERAL LICENSE AUTHORIZING CERTAIN ACTIVITIES INVOLVING VENEZUELAN-ORIGIN OIL
On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License No. 46 (“GL46”) “Authorizing Certain Activities Involving Venezuela-Origin Oil.”
Subject to various exclusions and conditions summarized below, GL46 authorizes all transactions prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, including those involving the Government of Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), or any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest (“PdVSA Entities”), that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the lifting, exportation, reexportation, sale, resale, supply, storage, marketing, purchase, delivery, or transportation of Venezuelan-origin oil, including the refining of such oil, by an “established U.S. entity.” The term “established U.S. entity” is defined by GL46 as “any entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States on or before January 29, 2025.”
Such authorized types of transactions include arranging shipping and logistics services, including chartering vessels, obtaining marine insurance and protection and indemnity coverage, and arranging port and terminal services, including with port authorities or terminal operators that are part of the Government of Venezuela, as well as commercially reasonable payments in the form of swaps of crude oil, diluents, or refined petroleum products.
In addition to the above condition of “established U.S. entity” involvement, GL46 is subject to various other conditions:
– any contract for such transactions with the Government of Venezuela, PdVSA, or PdVSA Entities must specify that the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States govern the contract and that any dispute resolution under the contract occur in the United States;
– any monetary payment to a blocked person must be made into the Foreign Government Deposit Fund, as specified in Executive Order 14373 of January 9, 2026, or any other account as instructed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury; and
– any person that exports, reexports, sells, resells or supplies Venezuelan-origin oil to countries other than the United States pursuant to GL46 must provide a detailed report to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Energy as specified in GL46.
GL46 also expressly excludes from its authorization:
payment terms which are not commercially reasonable, involve debts swaps or payments in gold, or are denominated in digital currency issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela;
– any transaction involving a person located in or organized under the laws of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or any entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or in a joint venture with such persons;
– any transaction involving a person located in or organized under the laws of Venezuela or the United States that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or in a joint venture with a person located in or organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China;
– the unblocking of any property blocked pursuant to the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations; and – any transaction involving a blocked vessel.-
Members are cautioned that GL46 contains conditions and exclusions which significantly narrow its application. Members are advised to consult with qualified U.S. sanctions counsel with any questions on the applicability of GL46 to particular transactions. Members are reminded that cover is not available for any trade that breaches applicable sanctions.
Yours faithfully,
Dorothea Ioannou, CEO Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Managers for THE AMERICAN CLUB
