US allows oil majors to resume Venezuela operations

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by ReutersFebruary 13, 2026 at 06:14 PM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

The US government eased sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector, issuing general licenses allowing certain global energy companies to resume operations and negotiate new investments. Companies like Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell, and Repsol are now authorized to operate oil and gas projects, with royalty and tax payments directed through a US-controlled fund. A separate license permits other companies worldwide to contract with PDVSA for new oil and gas investments, contingent on OFAC permits. The authorization excludes transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China, or entities controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries. This represents the most significant relaxation of sanctions since the US removed President Maduro last month.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Foreign Government Deposit Fund 40% Shell 60% Repsol 60% Eni 60% Chevron 60% BP 60% Opec 60% Russia 80% Nicolás Maduro (Maduro) ×280% PDVSA ×280% Venezuela ×3100% United States ×2100%

Keywords

venezuela 90% us sanctions 90% oil and gas 80% energy sector 70% pdvsa 70% oil majors 60% general licence 50% investments 50% contracts 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Venezuela

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

venezuela us sanctions oil and gas energy sector pdvsa oil majors general licence investments contracts

Explore Full Topic Graph