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."
The company set up a U.S. subsidiary, registered it with the Venezuelan investment agency, signed exclusivity agreements over assets it had already picked, received the reservoir data packages from the state companies and sent its technical team to walk the facilities. All of that it did alone. For the next step — sitting down to close with PDVSA — it needs a third party, and it says so in its own statement. That third party brings no capital, no equipment, no geologists. It brings an administrative status that cannot be bought on the market or manufactured with money.
New Stratus Energy, listed on Canada's venture exchange, published an update on its Venezuelan activities on August 24. Among what it has done since January it lists incorporating a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, with an operating arm in Venezuela, registered with the productive international investment agency. And it describes its method plainly: it partners "with entities benefiting from the updated U.S. sanctions regime" in order to apply for and secure assets.
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