GL 46B: The license that makes the U.S. the sole authorized buyer of Venezuelan oil and petrochemicals
GL 46B does not merely authorize Venezuelan crude trading. The March 13 version expanded its scope to petrochemical products, fertilizers, and derivatives.
GL 46B does not merely authorize Venezuelan crude trading. The March 13 revision expanded its scope to include petrochemical products, fertilizers, and derivatives. For the market: OFAC has effectively redefined Venezuela's exportable value chain in a single document.
GL 46B is not GL 46 renamed. It is a material expansion of tradeable scope. The original January 2026 version covered only crude and petroleum products. The March update broadened the definition of "petroleum of Venezuelan origin" to include petrochemical products, fertilizers, and chemical precursors listed in a specific annex. Urea, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, superphosphates, and ammonium sulfate now fall under the GL 46B umbrella. For a country with installed petrochemical capacity at Jose and Moron, this is far from marginal.
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FURTHER READING
04Washington clears the rebuilding of Venezuela's network and leaves the capital waiting on another license
Through Thursday the telecommunications license covered carrying traffic; since Friday it covers installing, repairing and operating the plant itself. Putting capital into it still needs a permit that does not exist yet.
Venezuela Upstream July 2026: LOH Regulation drops PDVSA (Gaceta 7,052), Repsol signs Horcón MoU, OFAC amends GL 46C-54A, Brent normalizes to $81
The first comprehensive Hydrocarbons Law regulation since 1943 opens upstream to privates without a mandatory joint venture; the VE Score eases from 94 to 84 on Brent's correction (May $104 → July $81), not regulatory deterioration.
OFAC eligibility in Venezuela: who lends the permit to sign with PDVSA
A Canadian oil company set out on August 24 the six steps it took to enter Venezuelan crude: a U.S. subsidiary, registration with the investment agency, exclusivities, data packages and a field visit. Five it took alone. For the sixth it states that it partners "with entities benefiting from the updated U.S. sanctions regime."
GL 46C — Trade in Venezuelan-Origin Oil and Petrochemical Products
Authorizes an established U.S. entity to lift, export, sell, store, transport and refine Venezuelan-origin oil —and to import Venezuelan-origin petrochemical products into the U.S.— in transactions involving the Government of Venezuela and PdVSA, subject to U.S./allied law and forum and Treasury payment routing. Supersedes GL 46B.