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672. Can I export or reexport diluents to Venezuela?
No. Diluents (including, for example, crude oil and naphtha) play a key role in the transportation and exportation of Venezuelan petroleum, a primary source of revenue for the illegitimate and corrupt Maduro regime, which the United States seeks to restrict further. OFAC is amending General Licenses (GLs) 7A, 8, and 13 effective as of June 6, 2019, to restrict U.S. persons engaging in transactions and activities authorized by those GLs from exporting or reexporting diluents, directly or indirectly, to Venezuela, or from engaging in transactions or activities related thereto.
Absent authorization from OFAC, all U.S. persons continue to be prohibited from engaging in any dealings with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), or any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest. In addition, non-U.S. persons could be subject to designation pursuant...
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Note: this FAQ and comments thereto were posted/written prior to the blocking of the Government of Venezuela pursuant to EO 13884. Neither the FAQ nor the comment have been updated in light of that development.
From a legal basis perspective, this FAQ is extremely confusing. Intentionally so, it seems.
In the first paragraph, in response to the question "[c]an I export or reexport diluents to Venezuela," OFAC says "no," without qualification, intimating that such exports are outright prohibited. OFAC goes on to state that carveouts to Venezuela-related GLs exclude authorization for exports of diluents to Venezuela. In the last paragraph of the FAQ, OFAC says that, given the likelihood of a "direct or indirect interest of PdVSA" in exports of diluents to Venezuela, "persons directly or indirectly exporting or reexporting diluents to Venezuela should exercise enhanced due diligence...