Energy

The Trump administration on Tuesday authorized U.S. companies to supply Venezuela with equipment, technology, and other support for oil and gas production, issuing a new general license that expands what American firms can do in the country’s energy sector.

El Salvador’s top prosecutor has effectively halted a money-laundering investigation into a Venezuela-financed oil venture whose funds flowed into bank accounts linked to President Nayib Bukele.

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office said Monday it will file corruption charges against Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa, alleging misconduct tied to his role as finance manager for President Gustavo Petro’s 2022 campaign and to contracting decisions at the state-run oil company, the Associated Press said. 

The Trump administration is preparing to issue a broad Treasury Department license as soon as this week that would allow companies to pump oil in Venezuela, a move aimed at easing U.S. sanctions and jump-starting investment in the country’s decaying energy infrastructure. 

The Trump administration has granted confidential licenses to two of the world’s largest oil traders, Vitol and Trafigura, to broker sales of Venezuelan crude, despite both firms’ recent brushes with bribery prosecutions tied to oil deals elsewhere, The Washington Post reported.

Secret audio recorded in Madrid in 2017 captures “shadow bankers” laying out a plan to launder millions of dollars tied to corruption at Venezuela’s state oil company, including a proposed bond swap designed to evade anti-money laundering controls

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday blacklisted nine ships and their owners in response to Iran’s ongoing crackdown on protestors, including Tehran’s decision to shut down internet access within the country. 

A senior Labour lawmaker is urging the British government to close a sanctions loophole that allows jet fuel and other refined oil products derived from Russian crude oil to enter the U.K., Politico reported. 

President Donald Trump’s apparent green light for doing business in Venezuela is unlikely to prompt a rush of corporate investment, even if U.S. sanctions are rolled back, according to recent reporting by Dow Jones Risk Journal. 

The Trump administration’s first sale of Venezuelan oil under a new arrangement is valued at $500 million, with much of that money being held in a U.S.-controlled bank account in Qatar, according to Semafor.