Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Regulation: The 20%–35% Fiscal Table That Redefines Oil Investment

Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Law Regulation is now in force (Gazette Ext. 7,052): 83 years later, it sets a 20%–35% fiscal table by project type. What remains at the Ministry's discretion is no longer the rate, but which category each oil contract falls into.

Published July 15, 2026

Eighty-three years after its last regulation, Venezuela has the implementation manual for its oil opening. Decree No. 5,381, published in Special Official Gazette No. 7,052, does not leave the fiscal rate to guesswork: it fixes, article by article, how much a project pays based on its category. This is not a framework open to case-by-case bargaining. It is a table.

But a fiscal table does not close every question. Discretion did not disappear: it moved one step back. It no longer sits in how much is paid —that is written down—, but in who decides which category a contract falls into. That is the variable an investor should watch from now on, not the rate.

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VENE · ECONOMIST Intelligence Unit · Informational analysis. Does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Vene Economist is not a credit rating agency; the "VE Verdict" is a proprietary editorial indicator, not a credit rating. Always verify against the primary source before making decisions.

Since Executive Order 14373, Venezuela’s oil revenue flows into accounts custodied by the U.S. Treasury and is spent through a monthly budget approved by the State Department. Some ~US$8 billion moved in four months, with audits announced but unpublished. For the investor, the double lock is both a guarantee —less revenue diversion— and a risk —State discretion, opacity and Washington politics— in the same mechanism.

OFAC · GL 60

GL 60 — Earthquake Relief Efforts (through October 23, 2026)

Authorizes, through 12:01 a.m. eastern time on October 23, 2026, transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to earthquake-relief efforts following the June 24, 2026 earthquake in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR part 591), including those involving the Government of Venezuela and SDNs sanctioned under the executive orders incorporated into the VSR. Note 1 covers the processing and transfer of funds on behalf of third-country persons in support of relief and lets U.S. financial institutions and money transmitters rely on the originator to establish compliance. Does not unblock blocked property and does not cover ordinary activity (routine remittances, general commerce).

Venezuela's Hydrocarbons Regulation: The 20%–35% Fiscal Table That Redefines Oil Investment

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GL 60 — Earthquake Relief Efforts (through October 23, 2026)