The United States issues general licenses for oil companies operating in Venezuela.

The Trump administration issued a general license to expand the ability of oil companies to operate in Venezuela, marking an important step towards easing sanctions. The license, released by the U.S. Department of Treasury on Thursday, covers a range of activities that are expected to accelerate the circulation of Venezuelan crude oil. This includes exporting, selling, storing, and refining the oil, as long as these activities are carried out by U.S. entities. According to a government official, this does not include upstream crude oil production within Venezuela, as currently only one U.S. oil company, Chevron, is engaged in this sector with a special license from the United States. Previously, the Venezuelan parliament approved a historic reform of the country's oil and gas policy, with some executives from U.S. oil companies stating that this reform is crucial for their operations in Venezuela. President Donald Trump has expressed his hope that American energy companies will invest billions of dollars to revive the Venezuelan oil industry.