A new set of licenses was announced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 10. The resolutions expand and update the authorizations for energy and mining operations related to the country.

Licenses 46C, 47A, 48B, 50B, 51B, 52A, and 54A immediately supersede the previous versions published between February and March of this year.

“Among the most relevant changes, OFAC authorized new operations related to the export, marketing, and transportation of Venezuelan oil and petrochemical products to the United States.”

According to the announcement, the benefit covers U.S. companies established before January 29, 2025. “License 50B also ratified permits for transnational corporations such as Chevron, Repsol, Shell, BP, Eni, and Maurel & Prom for activities related to the Venezuelan oil and gas sector.”

On the other hand, license 47A authorizes the export of diluents to Venezuela, and license 48B authorizes the “supply of technology, software, equipment, and services for oil, petrochemical, and electrical projects within the country.”

In the mining sector, operations related to Venezuelan minerals, including gold, are being made more flexible through licenses 51B and 54A, which will allow the export, transport, processing, and supply of goods linked to mining activities under strict oversight mechanisms and periodic reporting.

M.Pino

Source: puntodecorte

(Reference image source: Shane McLendon en Unsplash)

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La entrada OFAC issues new licenses for oil, gas, and gold trading in Venezuela apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Donald Trump administration lifted sanctions on the Central Bank of Venezuela, as well as other banks in the country, through General License No. 57, issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The measure, announced on Tuesday, April 14, “allows the reactivation of a wide range of financial services with the Central Bank of Venezuela and public banks, from transfers and dollar accounts to digital payments, remittances, and stock market operations.”

The Trump Administration’s authorization includes the Central Bank of Venezuela, as well as the Bank of Venezuela, the Digital Workers’ Bank, and the Treasury Bank.

 

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Among the financial services that the OFAC license will permit are:

• Comprehensive management of accounts and basic banking services: account maintenance, operation, and closure; loans, transfers, and fund transfers, as well as general banking services.
• Traditional financial operations: these include money transfers; collection, presentation, promise, order, and consignment of payments; acceptance of deposits; issuance of insurance and guarantees. Also included are cash withdrawals; check services; ACH transfers and international electronic transfers.
• Digital operations: with debit cards, prepaid cards, and ATMs; issuance and use of payment cards and digital wallets; as well as other instruments defined within international payment standards.
• Foreign exchange and correspondent banking: foreign exchange is authorized; banking, payment, and correspondent account services denominated in US dollars. Also included are services associated with sending, processing, collecting, and receiving funds or remittances.
• Employee payments and benefits: This refers to the processing and receipt of salaries, pensions, annuities, payroll, and other employee payments or benefits.
• Transfers via digital technology: This includes sending funds via mobile money, mobile wallets, digital bank accounts, credit and debit cards, online payments, and other electronic platforms.
• Security and financial technology: This anticipates the implementation and operation of services related to fraud prevention, verification, authentication, cybersecurity, and transaction protection by the Central Bank of Venezuela and public banks.
• Securities market and financial instruments: This includes investments and transactions with securities, as well as operations with futures or options on commodities, which could facilitate issuances in foreign currency.

M.Pino

Source: elestimulo

(Reference image source: file)

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La entrada The United States lifts sanctions on Central Bank of Venezuela apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday, February 10, the issuance of the new General License 44A, which authorizes “the supply, export, and re-export of technology, software, equipment, and services necessary for the exploration, production, refining, and transportation of oil and gas in Venezuela.”

This legal instrument, published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), represents a further step in the relaxations granted in recent weeks and is framed within the new Venezuelan political landscape.

Among the scope of this license is the authorization for “U.S. persons and entities, as well as foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies, to carry out the following activities without the need for case-by-case authorization.”

In detail, the following are authorized:

• Exporting, re-exporting, selling, or supplying specialized software for reservoir management, seismic modeling, reservoir simulation, well optimization, and real-time monitoring.
• Supplying advanced drilling technology, downhole equipment, smart completion tools, artificial lift systems, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies.
• Providing technical and consulting services directly related to improving oil and gas production.
• Conducting financial transactions associated with the aforementioned activities.

It is important to clarify that General License 44A does not authorize the supply of goods or technology that could have military use or that are expressly prohibited by other export control regulations (EAR/BIS). It also does not eliminate individual sanctions against specific persons or entities yet designated by the Treasury.

The measure was implemented by the United States government considering that without the necessary technology and support, such as reservoir simulation software, 4D seismic analysis, and updated SCADA systems, it would be impossible to halt and reverse the natural decline of the oil fields.

The license took effect immediately and remains valid until December 31, 2026, unless modified or revoked by the Department of the Treasury.

M.Pino

Source: puntodecorte

(Reference image source: Adi Goldstein on Unsplash)

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La entrada US authorizes supply of technology and software for oil production in Venezuela apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury extended gas delivery and offloading in Venezuela until September 7 through General License No. 40D, issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The new license replaces license 40C and authorizes, until the indicated date, “certain transactions with Venezuela related to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).”

The document released by OFAC details the conditions of this extension for the specific commercial activity of gas delivery and unloading in Venezuela, valid for shipments loaded onto vessels until July 7, 2025.

M.Pino

Source: notitarde

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La entrada OFAC extends license for gas delivery and offloading in Venezuela apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury (OFAC) announced on Thursday, November 7, the extension for six months, until May 9, 2025, of the licenses to operate in Venezuela for the oil service companies Halliburton, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes Holdings and Weatherford International.

“Under the terms of the license, these companies may carry out operations necessary to maintain the security or preservation of their assets in Venezuela.”

Companies benefiting from this extension are authorized to establish contracts with companies involving the state oil company PDVSA “or any entity in which PDVSA directly or indirectly owns 50 % or more of the shareholding,” in force before July 26, 2019.

The permits include various well maintenance tasks, as well as the provision of drills and the rental of equipment necessary for crude oil exploration and production activities.

This OFAC extension contemplates certain conditions. According to paragraph (a), these include “transactions and activities necessary to guarantee the security of personnel, or the integrity of operations and assets in Venezuela.”

Furthermore, the directors of the authorized companies may participate in shareholder and board meetings; make “payments of third-party invoices for transactions and activities authorized by paragraph (a) of this general license, or incurred before April 21, 2020, provided that such activity was authorized at the time it occurred.”

OFAC also authorizes companies with an extended license to make payments for “local taxes and the contracting of public services in Venezuela, as well as the cancellation of salaries for employees and contractors in the country.”

M.Pino

Source: bancaynegocios

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La entrada OFAC extends oil service companies’ licenses to operate in Venezuela for six months apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Lawmakers Stephen Lynch,  Jesus Chuy Garcia,  Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib introduced a bill called the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware Act (ECASH Act) that seeks to instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to “develop and issue an electronic version of the US dollar, with a view to preserving privacy and anonymity in transactions.”

According to what was expressed by the legislative representatives, the electronic dollar is conceived as “a bearer instrument that people could have on their phone or on a card, very similar to the bill or menda of the North American country.

The proposal indicates that the electronic dollar would be a system based on tokens and not on accounts, therefore, if users lose their mobile phone or card they would lose their funds, that is, it would be like losing the wallet with the paper money dollars.

The bill establishes that the new electronic dollar will be considered “legal tender and would be functionally identical to a physical greenback.” In addition, legislators affirm that the most suitable government entity for the creation of this financial instrument is the US Department of the Treasury and not the Federal Reserve.

Electronic dollar different from the digital one

In order to know the differences between the proposal for the development of an electronic dollar with respect to the digital dollar that would be developed by the Department of the Treasury, some media consulted the opinion of Rohan Gray, a professor at Willamette University, who pointed out: “the bill is intended to create a true digital analog of the US dollar.”

 “We propose to have a genuine cash-like bearer instrument, a token-based system that has no centralized ledger and no distributed ledger because the dollar has no ledger. It would use secure software and hardware and will be issued by the Treasury,” he explained.

The main difference with other proposals on the digital dollar is that it will be based on “stable currencies or other decentralized accounting tools” and not on blockchain technology.

The university professor considers that this type of system could be of great interest to those people who do not have access to the traditional financial system because they do not meet the requirements such as: maintaining a minimum balance in bank accounts and for people who do not trust banks because they charge fees and freeze funds.

M. Rodríguez

source: infocoin.net

La entrada US lawmakers propose ECASH bill apareció primero en Bitfinance.

United States President Joe Biden authorized Chevron to start the reactivation of its operations in Venezuelan territory and it is estimated that the decision will be formalized this week, within the framework of the talks between the representatives of the North American government and the national executive, after the increase in crude oil prices as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Chevron is considered the second oil company in the United States and the seventh in the world and is the only one that “still operates in the crude oil sector in Venezuela”. Its history has been in the country for several decades and it has approximately 8,000 workers.

Four executives of the oil company visited the Venezuelan capital last week with the purpose of initiating the organization of the return of Venezuelan oil sales to the United States.

As will be recalled, the US Department of the Treasury extended in June 2021 until December 1st, 2021, the license that allowed the US oil company to continue its essential operations in the country despite the sanctions of the US government against the state company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). During 2021, the company’s pressure on the Joe Biden government was quite notorious, but the war between Russia and Ukraine “generated the right conditions for its execution.”

Stabilizing the oil market

According to information published by some news agencies, the measure was confirmed by the governments of the United States and Venezuela as part of Washington’s strategy to stabilize the oil market in the face of the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

In this connection, the Washington Post newspaper publishes: “Chevron seeks to double the production of 800,000 barrels per day in Venezuela in a few months. That could replace the loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day that the United States imported from Russia before it attacked Ukraine, which could help lower the price of gasoline, a fact that has become a big “concern” for the US president in a difficult electoral year.

Joe Biden’s government does not plan to “lift all retaliation against Venezuela” because it could cause some problems with the Democrats ahead of the legislative elections.

M. Rodríguez

With information from eluniversal.com and specialized news agencies

La entrada Chevron to reactivate operations in Venezuela apareció primero en Bitfinance.

This Thursday, the United States Department of the Treasury announced that from now on it will monitor activities with cryptocurrencies more closely.

According to the US agency, this measure is taken because the use of digital assets encourages illegal activities such as tax evasion.

The institution will require those people who handle more than $ 10,000 in cryptocurrencies to inform the estate about this.

In a statement, the department led by Janet Yellen stressed that cryptocurrencies pose what it called “a significant detection problem because they facilitate illegal activities in general, including tax evasion.”

This measure, as indicated by the institution, also applies to companies under the same range established for natural persons.

“Companies that receive crypto assets with a fair market value greater than $ 10,000 will also need to be declared. Although cryptocurrencies are a small part of current business transactions, this comprehensive notification is necessary to minimize incentives and the opportunity to hide assets income from the new information disclosure regime”, the statement said.

K. Tovar

Source: Cointelegraph

La entrada Treasury Department to keep a close eye on cryptocurrencies apareció primero en Bitfinance.