After bringing an end to the Nicolás Maduro era in Venezuela, the United States continues to take official steps aimed at utilizing the country’s underground resources.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a new license authorizing operations related to Venezuelan oil.
Under the license announced by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), transactions involving the export, re-export, sale, resale, supply, storage, marketing, purchase, shipment, and transportation of Venezuelan oil are now permitted.
In a previous statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the oil reserves of the United States and Venezuela together account for approximately 68 percent of the world’s total reserves. Trump stated that utilizing Venezuela’s oil resources could help lower global oil prices and contribute to the recovery of the country’s economy.
At the end of last month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that revenues generated from Venezuelan oil sales would be deposited into a blocked account and that expenditures would be overseen by Washington.
It was reported that the United States carried out its first $500 million sale of Venezuelan oil on January 15.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russian oil companies’ activities in Venezuela had been restricted and that they were being forced to leave the country.