The U.S. Treasury has revoked a license that allowed French oil company Maurel & Prom to operate in Venezuela and has ended the practice of permitting companies to receive oil from Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA in exchange for payments. This move comes as the Trump administration continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuela’s oil industry and exports.
Maurel & Prom, based in France, announced on Monday that it had received notification from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 28, 2025, confirming that the special license granted to the company in May 2024 for its activities in Venezuela had been revoked.
The Biden administration had previously granted special licenses to several foreign firms, enabling them to import Venezuelan oil from joint ventures with companies such as Maurel & Prom, Eni, and Repsol.
Maurel & Prom held a special license for its 40% interest in the joint venture Petroregional del Lago (PRDL), which operates the Urdaneta Oeste field in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.
As part of a broader strategy to deprive Venezuela of oil revenue, the U.S. Treasury is revoking these licenses.
In the case of Maurel & Prom, OFAC has issued a wind-down license until May 27, 2025, allowing the company to complete transactions necessary to wind down operations that were previously covered under the revoked license.
Maurel & Prom stated, “M&P is currently assessing the implications of this decision in close consultation with its legal advisors. The Group remains actively engaged with U.S. authorities and continues to monitor the situation as it develops.”
Meanwhile, Italy’s Eni confirmed that its license, which allowed PDVSA to repay in oil for Eni’s gas production in Venezuela, had also been revoked.
“Eni continues its transparent engagement with U.S. authorities on the matter to identify options for ensuring that non-sanctioned gas supplies, essential to the population, can be remunerated by PDVSA,” Eni said in a statement.
In late February, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a sanctions waiver for Chevron, which had allowed the oil giant to return to Venezuela and play a key role in boosting the country’s oil production.
In another move to escalate sanctions against Venezuela, Trump also threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from any country purchasing Venezuelan oil.
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