On March 14, 2019, OFAC reissued General License 7 (“GL 7”) as General License 7A (“GL 7A”) to extend the general license’s authorization for certain activities involving PDV Holding, Inc. (“PDVH”) and CITGO Holding, Inc. (“CITGO”). While the original GL 7(a) was set to expire on July 27, 2019, GL 7A(a) automatically renews on the first day of each month, and is valid for a period of 18 months from the last renewal date. GL 7A(a) authorizes certain transactions with PDVH, CITGO, and their subsidiaries that would otherwise be prohibited as a result of the designation of their parent, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”), on January 28, 2019 under Executive Order 13850. We note that the separate petroleum-related provision that appears in GL 7(b) has not changed, and still expires on April 28, 2019. GL 7A(b) continues to authorize PDVH, CITGO, and their subsidiaries to engage in transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the purchase and importation of petroleum and petroleum products from PdVSA (and any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest). Our prior blog posts on the scope of GL 7 are here and here.
In addition, on March 8, 2019, OFAC reissued General License 3C (“GL 3C”) as General License 3D (“GL 3D”), and reissued General License 9B (“GL 9B”) as General License 9C (“GL 9C”). The amended licenses extend the expiration date of the provisions therein relating to the wind down of certain financial contracts or other agreements involving the bonds listed in the Annex to GL 3D and trades in certain PdVSA securities from March 11, 2019 to May 10, 2019. Our prior blog post on the scope of GL 3C and GL 9B is here. OFAC also correspondingly updated FAQs 661 and 662.
