OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL
DIRECTIVE 4 (AS AMENDED ON OCTOBER 31, 2017)[1]
UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER 13662
Pursuant to sections 1(a)(i), 1(b), and 8 of Executive Order 13662 of March 20, 2014 "Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine" (the Order) and 31 C.F.R. § 589.802, taking appropriate account of the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (Title II of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA)), and following the Secretary of the Treasury’s determination under section 1(a)(i) of the Order with respect to the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy, the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control has determined, in consultation with the Department of State, that the following activities by a U.S. person or within the United States are prohibited, except to the extent provided by law or unless licensed or otherwise authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control:
The provision, exportation, or reexportation, directly or indirectly, of goods, services (except for financial services), or technology in support of exploration or production for deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale projects:
(1) that have the potential to produce oil in the Russian Federation, or in maritime area claimed by the Russian Federation and extending from its territory, and that involve any person determined to be subject to this Directive or any earlier version thereof, their property, or their interests in property; or
(2) that are initiated on or after January 29, 2018, that have the potential to produce oil in any location, and in which any person determined to be subject to this Directive or any earlier version thereof, their property, or their interests in property has (a) a 33 percent or greater ownership interest, or (b) ownership of a majority of the voting interests.
Except to the extent otherwise provided by law or unless licensed or otherwise authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the following are also prohibited: (1) any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions contained in this Directive; and (2) any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions in this Directive.
A complete listing of persons determined to be subject to one or more directives under Executive Order 13662 can be found in OFAC’s Sectoral Sanctions Identifications (SSI) List on OFAC’s Web site (http://www.treasury.gov/ofac) at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN- List/Pages/ssi_list.aspx.
October 31, 2017
[1]A prior version of this Directive issued on September 12, 2014, which is superseded by this version, prohibited the same activities covered in subsection (1) of this Directive that involved any person determined to be subject to the prior version of this Directive, their property, or their interests in property.
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Notes:
1) See FAQs, regulatory provisions and other documents categorized in the "discrete legal provision" search function as pertaining to SSI Directive 4, and comments thereto, for more detail on the scope and operation of this SSI directive. The FAQs have addressed most of the discrete interpretive issues that have arisen from the directives, including the relationship between the directives and the 50% rule. (Search in the "Discrete Legal Provision" category on the Research System interface, or click here).
2) Technically, violations of the "Sectoral Sanctions List" directives would constitute violations of 589.201 of the URSR, which covers all conduct prohibited by EO 13662, but in practice the operation of the directives is divorced from the URSR, of which the abbreviated regulations are aimed at dealing with the blocking component of the EOs they implement.
3) Directive amended in 2017 pursuant to/at the direction of CAATSA. The version in force prior to the amendment is available in the PDF file. See related FAQs for a discussion of the differences between the modified Directive and the version preceding it.
4) For comments on the technical relationship between this directive and the blocking provision at Sec. 1(a)(i) of EO 13662, see General Note on "Sectoral Sanctions" and Determinations Made Pursuant to EOs Providing for the Blocking of Persons Determined to "Operate In" a Certain Sector (System Ed. Note).
5) Notable enforcement action (and only one as of 9/27/2021) -- Cameron International Corporation.
6) See notable interpretation of the term "in support of" at Case No. Ukraine-EO13662-2014-313323-1.