OFAC Renews 1 Venezuela General License, Updates Another
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued two updated Venezuela-related general licenses, including one that renews the current authorization for certain transactions with the country’s state-owned energy company and another that updated the authorization for certain transactions with the country’s flagship airline.
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General License No. 8M, which replaces No. 8L (see 2305230029), authorizes certain transactions between state-run Petroleos de Venezuela and Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT May 16. The license was scheduled to expire Nov. 19.
General License No. 45A, which replaces No. 45, now includes additional information on transactions that are authorized with Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, also known as Conviasa, Venezuela’s largest airline. The license had previously only explicitly authorized certain transactions with Conviasa that were necessary “to the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals from non-U.S. jurisdictions in the Western Hemisphere to Venezuela, and are exclusively for the purposes of such repatriation,” but it now authorizes certain transactions involving aircraft repair and non-commercial flights.
The license was originally issued as part of an October announcement by OFAC that suspended certain sanctions against Venezuela after the country's government and opposition formally agreed to work together on conditions for the next presidential election (see 2310180070). OFAC this week also updated its frequently asked questions document covering those suspended sanctions and the general licenses in place.