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Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
Publication of web general licenses.
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing two general licenses (GLs) issued pursuant to the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations: GLs 50A and 51A, each of which was previously made available on OFAC's website.
GL 50A was issued on February 18, 2026. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional relevant dates.
OFAC: Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, 202-622-4855; or https://ofac.treasury.gov/contact-ofac.
This document and additional information concerning OFAC are available on OFAC's website: https://ofac.treasury.gov/.
On February 18, 2026, OFAC issued GL 50A to authorize certain transactions otherwise prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (VSR). GL 50A replaced and superseded GL 50. On March 27, 2026, OFAC issued GL 51A to authorize certain transactions otherwise prohibited by VSR. GL 51A replaced and superseded GL 51. These GLs were made available on OFAC's website ( https://ofac.treasury.gov) when they were issued. The text of these GLs is provided below.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (the VSR), including those involving the Government of Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), or any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest (collectively, “PdVSA Entities”), that are related to oil or gas sector operations in Venezuela of the entities listed in the Annex to this general license and their subsidiaries are authorized, provided that:
(1) Any contract for such transactions with the Government of Venezuela, PdVSA, or PdVSA Entities specify that the laws of the United States or any ( printed page 57792) jurisdiction within the United States govern the contract and that any dispute resolution under the contract occur in the United States; and
(2) Any monetary payment to a blocked person, excluding payments for local taxes, permits, or fees, is made into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, as specified in Executive Order 14373 of January 9, 2026, or any other account as instructed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Any payments of oil or gas taxes or royalties to the Government of Venezuela, PdVSA, or any PdVSA Entity must be paid into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds or any other account as instructed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
(b) This general license does not authorize:
(1) Payment terms that are not commercially reasonable, involve debt swaps or payments in gold, or are denominated in digital currency, digital coin, or digital tokens issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela, including the petro;
(2) Any transaction involving a person located in the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the People's Republic of China, or any entity that is owned or controlled by or in a joint venture with such persons;
(3) The unblocking of any property blocked pursuant to the VSR; or
(4) Any transaction involving a blocked vessel.
(c) Any person that engages in transactions pursuant to this general license must provide a detailed report to Sanctions_inbox@state.gov and VZReporting@doe.gov that identifies:
(1) The parties involved;
(2) A description of the transactions, including, as relevant, the quantities, values, and dates of the transactions; and
(3) Any taxes, fees, or other payments provided to the Government of Venezuela.
(d) Reports described in paragraph (c) are due ten days after the execution of the first of such transactions and every 90 days thereafter while such transactions are ongoing.
(e) Effective February 18, 2026, General License No. 50, dated February 13, 2026, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General License No. 50A.
Nothing in this general license relieves any person from compliance with the requirements of other Federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.
Bradley T. Smith,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Dated: February 18, 2026.
List of Entities Described in Paragraph (a) of General License 50A as of February 18, 2026:
BP PLC
Chevron Corporation
Eni S.p.A.
Établissements Maurel & Prom SA
Repsol S.A.
Shell PLC
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (the VSR), including those involving the Government of Venezuela, CVG Compania General de Mineria de Venezuela CA (Minerven), or any entity in which Minerven owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest (collectively, “Minerven Entities”), that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the exportation, reexportation, sale, resale, supply, storage, purchase, delivery, or transportation of Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold, by an established U.S. entity, are authorized, provided that:
(1) Any contract for such transactions with the Government of Venezuela, Minerven, or Minerven Entities specify that the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States govern the contract and that any dispute resolution under the contract occur in the United States; and
(2) Any monetary payment to a blocked person, excluding payments for local taxes, permits, or fees, is made into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, as specified in Executive Order 14373 of January 9, 2026, or any other account as instructed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
For purposes of this general license, the term “established U.S. entity” means any entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States on or before January 29, 2025.
Transactions authorized by paragraph (a) include conducting commercial, legal, technical, safety, and environmental due diligence and assessments ordinarily incident to the activity authorized in paragraph (a). Transactions authorized by paragraph (a) also include arranging shipping and logistics services, including chartering vessels, arranging security services, obtaining marine insurance and protection and indemnity (P&I) coverage, and arranging port and terminal services, including with port authorities or terminal operators that are part of the Government of Venezuela.
Transactions authorized by paragraph (a) include the processing or refining of such minerals, except as provided by paragraph (b).
(b) This general license does not authorize:
(1) Payment terms that are not commercially reasonable, involve debt swaps or in-kind payments, or are denominated in digital currency, digital coin, or digital tokens issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela, including the petro;
(2) Any transaction involving a person located in or organized under the laws of the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, or any entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or in a joint venture with such persons;
(3) Any transaction involving an entity located in or organized under the laws of Venezuela or the United States that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by or in a joint venture with a person located in or organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China;
(4) Any transaction involving the processing or refining of Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold, in the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, or the People's Republic of China;
(5) The unblocking of any property blocked pursuant to the VSR;
(6) Any transaction involving a blocked vessel; or
(7) Exploration, development, mining, extraction, processing, refining, or production of minerals in Venezuela or the formation of joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to engage in the foregoing activities.
( printed page 57793)(c) Any person that exports, reexports, sells, resells, purchases, or supplies Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold, pursuant to this general license must provide a detailed report to Sanctions_inbox@state.gov and ofac_intake@doi.gov that identifies, for each of these transactions:
(1) The parties involved;
(2) Documentation demonstrating supply chain due diligence plans to determine the chain of custody of the minerals;
(3) Quantities, descriptions, and purchase prices of the minerals;
(4) The dates the transactions occurred; and
(5) Any taxes, fees, or other payments provided to the Government of Venezuela.
(d) Reports described in paragraph (c) are due ten days after the execution of the first of such transactions and every 30 days thereafter while such transactions are ongoing.
(e) Effective March 27, 2026, General License No. 51, dated March 6, 2026, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General License No. 51A.
Nothing in this general license relieves any person from compliance with the requirements of other Federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.
Bradley T. Smith,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Dated: March 27, 2026.
Bradley T. Smith,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2026-18572 Filed 9-10-26; 8:45 am]
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