Venezuela Oil Sanctions and Iran War Energy Policy

On March 18, amid a sharp Iran-war-driven spike in oil prices that pushed Brent above $108, the U.S. Treasury issued a broad license easing sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA—allowing companies that existed before Jan. 29, 2025 to sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. firms and on global markets while routing payments into a U.S.-controlled account and banning deals with Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and certain Chinese entities or transactions in Venezuelan debt. The administration said the short-term move aims to spur investment and boost supply as the Iran war disrupts shipments, and the White House also denied it is considering oil and gas export restrictions amid warnings such limits would likely backfire.