VENEECONOMIST
Analysis · FEBRUARY 20, 2026

GL 50A: The named license — 6 majors authorized for unrestricted operations in Venezuela's oil sector

OFAC named six companies in an annex: Chevron, BP, Eni, Repsol, Shell, and Maurel & Prom. For these companies and their subsidiaries, GL 50A authorizes all transactions related to oil and gas operations in Venezuela.

OFAC named six companies in an annex: Chevron, BP, Eni, Repsol, Shell, and Maurel & Prom. For these companies and their subsidiaries, GL 50A authorizes all transactions related to oil and gas operations in Venezuela. It is not a generic license — it is a named passport.

GL 50A is not just another license. It is a named license. OFAC identified six specific companies in an annex and granted them authorization to conduct "all transactions prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations" related to oil and gas operations. For these six companies, the sanctions regime on Venezuela effectively does not exist in oil matters. It is broader than GL 46B (which only covers trading), broader than GL 48A (which covers goods and services but prohibits JVs), and broader than GL 49A (which only covers negotiation).

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FURTHER READING

04
VE PULSE · 27-JUL-2026

No extension: on Tuesday each oil company decides whether the new fiscal regime pencils out

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SECTOR BRIEF · VE-ENERGY-UPSTREAM

Venezuela Upstream July 2026: LOH Regulation drops PDVSA (Gaceta 7,052), Repsol signs Horcón MoU, OFAC amends GL 46C-54A, Brent normalizes to $81

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OFAC · GL 46C

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.

ANÁLISIS · ENERGÍA · SANCIONES Y ELEGIBILIDAD

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."