OFAC issues PDVSA licence for US oil companies

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) has issued a general licence (No.8B) which permits ‘all transactions and activities ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance of operations, contracts, or other agreements in Venezuela involving PdVSA or any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest prohibited by Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, as amended by E.O. 13857 of January 25, 2019, and that were in effect prior to July 26, 2019’ until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, 25 October 2019, for the following entities and their subsidiaries:

• Chevron Corporation
• Halliburton
• Schlumberger Limited
• Baker Hughes, a GE Company
• Weatherford International

Provisos apply.

See:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/venezuela_gl8b.pdf