Treasury adds methanol to its Venezuela oil licenses; its own FAQ had excluded it from "oil"

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Monday reissued three Venezuela general licenses: 46E, which covers trading Venezuelan-origin oil and petrochemical products; 48D, which covers supplying goods and services to Venezuela's oil, gas, petrochemical and power sectors; and 49B, which covers negotiating contingent contracts for new investment. The notice lists the new version numbers and does not say what changed.

What actually changed

We compared the new texts with the versions they replace. General License 46E and 48D are identical to the Aug. 27 versions, 46D and 48C, except for new dates, signatures and one addition to each annex. Each annex lists the chemicals that count as "petrochemical products," and each now includes methanol under five tariff codes. The same five methanol codes appear in the annex to 49B. The rest of the 46E and 48D annexes, mostly fertilizers and their inputs such as ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates, is unchanged.

The addition matters because OFAC's own guidance had left methanol out. FAQ 1226, which explains what "Venezuelan-origin oil" includes, follows the Energy Information Administration's definition and says petroleum products "do not include natural gas, liquefied natural gas, biofuels, methanol, and other non-petroleum fuels." Methanol is now covered by the licenses as a petrochemical product rather than as oil.

Who can use it, and on what terms

• Buyers and traders. Under 46E, an "established U.S. entity," meaning one organized in the United States on or before Jan. 29, 2025, can lift, ship, store and buy Venezuelan-origin petrochemical products for import into the United States. That now includes methanol. Contracts with the Venezuelan government or PdVSA must send disputes to the U.S., U.K., France or Singapore. Payments to blocked parties, other than local taxes and fees, go into the Treasury-designated Foreign Government Deposit Funds.
• Suppliers and contractors. 48D lets U.S. persons provide equipment, software and services, including repairs, for petrochemical production in Venezuela. That now reaches methanol output. It still bars forming new joint ventures and any dealings tied to exporting diluents to Venezuela.
• Investors. 49B allows negotiating contingent contracts for new or expanded petrochemical projects, including new joint ventures. Carrying them out needs a separate OFAC license.

The exclusions carry over unchanged. Every license bars dealings with persons in Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. 48D and 49B also bar persons in China. 46E bars Venezuelan or U.S. entities controlled by, or in joint ventures with, Chinese persons. Under 46E and 48D, payments in gold, debt swaps and Venezuelan government digital tokens are not allowed. Anyone reselling Venezuelan oil outside the United States under 46E must report to the State and Energy departments within 10 days of the first transaction and every 90 days after that.

What it does not tell you

The licenses say nothing about volumes, and OFAC gave no reason for the change. Treat this as a legal door opening, not as proof that cargoes are moving. The practical test is whether established U.S. chemical buyers and traders sign supply contracts, which would show up first in trade data. OFAC has amended these licenses repeatedly this year. The "E" in 46E marks the fifth revision of a license first issued in January.

Related: crude oil chart, markets.

Sources: OFAC recent actions, Sept. 28, 2026; OFAC General Licenses 46E, 48D and 49B; the Aug. 27, 2026 versions 46D and 48C; OFAC FAQ 1226. The license comparison is our own. This is market information, not legal or investment advice.