General License 52 was issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), creating an exception to its sanctions on the Venezuelan oil industry. Photo: X / @PDVSA.
Guacamaya, March 18, 2026. The Trump administration issued General License 52, which authorizes virtually all transactions with PDVSA related to trading, exploration, and production.
This measure represents a shift from the recent policy of granting licenses gradually, as the White House had been doing following January 3rd. This acceleration is due to the sudden rise in oil prices, caused by the US and Israel’s war against Iran, which has led to the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
This does not yet constitute a lifting of sanctions, but rather a broad exception, which, however, now permits the majority of hydrocarbon-related activities in the South American nation.
As in previous licenses, the new one continues to require that payments to PDVSA and the Venezuelan state be made into a US Treasury account called “Foreign Government Deposit Funds,” and contracts must be governed by US law, not Venezuelan law.
Other transactions also remain prohibited, such as those with sanctioned individuals; those made in payments involving cryptocurrencies, gold, or barter; and payments to entities based in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or China.
General License 52 also stipulates that the sale of Venezuelan-origin petroleum or petrochemical products to a country other than the US must be notified to the State and Energy departments.
OFAC also specifies that sanctions on PDVSA’s external debt, including arbitration awards, have not yet been lifted.
Context: Iran strangles global oil trade in Hormuz
Under previous licenses, it was planned that to begin exploration and production activities, each company would need to apply for specific authorization, with the exception of Chevron, Repsol, Maurel et Prom, Eni, Shell, and BP. The latest measure represents a shortcut for energy companies to accelerate the start of their operations in the country.
The reason is clear: the Trump administration expected a quick war against Iran, similar to its operation in Venezuela. However, not only is the conflict dragging on, but Tehran maintains its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: from an average of 150 vessels per day before February 26, today one is lucky to see a single commercial vessel on some days.
The blockade is causing a drop of between 10 and 11 million barrels per day in the global oil supply, a figure that could increase as the war continues. The main reason is that being unable to export, the Persian Gulf countries must halt their production when their storage tanks become full.
Although President Donald Trump seeks to calm markets with an opening in Venezuela, he will hardly be able to fill the gap. According to estimates from Orinoco Research, the founding country of OPEC could produce between 200,000 and 300,000 additional barrels per day this year.
