The United States has revised the scope of sanctions relief on Venezuela to facilitate investment and activities related to Venezuelan oil and to allow the export of fertilisers directly to American buyers, as prices surge on the back of supply disruptions caused by the ongoing war with Iran.
The US Treasury Department announced three updated general licences on Friday, including one permitting Venezuela to sell fertilisers and other petroleum-derived materials to American companies. The move represents a fresh easing of restrictions, timed as the escalating Middle East conflict undermines global supplies of key agricultural inputs.
“We have updated several Venezuela-related licences to help energise Venezuela’s energy sector and to help ensure a good supply for the global commodities market,” the Treasury said in a post on X. “These licences expand the scope of permitted investments and activities in Venezuela’s energy sector and allow for the direct export of fertilisers to the United States to support our great American farmers.”
The measures were disclosed on Friday in Treasury documents and form part of Washington’s broader effort to reintegrate Venezuela gradually into the global energy market. The effort was accelerated after US forces detained President Nicolás Maduro in January, following which the Trump administration asserted effective control over the country’s oil-rich state company.
The timing is deliberate. American farmers are rushing to secure fertilisers ahead of the spring planting season, particularly ammonia and urea — commodities that Venezuela once exported in large volumes. The escalating conflict in the Middle East is disrupting supplies that typically transit the Strait of Hormuz. Urea prices in New Orleans, Louisiana, have risen 28% since the outbreak of the war against Iran through Friday, according to Bloomberg Green Markets data. The United States imports more than a third of its urea requirements from the Middle East, according to the Fertiliser Institute.
By permitting Venezuelan fertiliser sales to American companies, the Trump administration is sending a signal to a sector that directly affects food prices at a time when the United States is already grappling with inflationary pressure from oil price increases tied to the war. The licence remains conditional on separate authorisation from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Beyond fertilisers, the Treasury also issued a licence allowing work on Venezuela’s electrical power grid — a move considered essential for reviving the oil sector and other industries, and for improving conditions for citizens who suffer frequent blackouts.
The fertiliser provision was implemented by expanding the definition of Venezuelan oil under an existing licence. As with permitted Venezuelan oil sales to the United States, American buyers are required to deposit payments into a frozen external account for later transfer to Venezuela’s central bank.
Venezuela’s substantial gas reserves once underpinned a thriving petrochemical industry led by the state firm Pequiven at its José complex and two other sites — Morón and El Tablazo — with the United States among its primary markets. The sector suffered neglect and mismanagement similar to that which crippled the oil industry. Pequiven still exports some ammonia and nitrogen-based urea to Brazil and Colombia, but at lower volumes and through opaque channels.
Josh Linville, vice president for fertilisers at brokerage StoneX, said it would take time and investment to restore those facilities to their former capacity, adding he does not expect Venezuela to become a significant supplier to the US market in the short term. Jeremy Banner, a partner at Washington law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, similarly noted that Venezuela’s oil sector lacks the infrastructure to offset current supply disruptions.
Venezuela exported approximately 400,000 metric tonnes of urea to Brazil in 2025, according to United Nations data, with smaller volumes going to Colombia and Chile in recent years. Those figures are modest compared with Pequiven’s nominal annual production capacity of 2.7m metric tonnes of ammonia and 3.3m metric tonnes of urea, according to company data, with most output centred at the José complex, known as Fertinitro. Pequiven also currently produces methanol through a joint venture with Mitsubishi and was once an active producer of petrochemicals, including ethylene and propylene. Fertilisers and petrochemicals were not directly targeted by US sanctions but were indirectly disrupted by the broader measures to isolate Venezuela.
By reviving the Venezuelan fertiliser industry, the Trump administration may be seeking to direct supplies primarily toward the US market as a partial offset to war-related disruptions, while also reducing reliance on Russian fertilisers that are exempt from American tariffs and sanctions, Reuters reported.
The sanctions adjustments come alongside a separate deal struck in early March in which Venezuela’s state mining company agreed to sell up to 1,000 kilograms of gold destined for American markets, according to Axios. Under that arrangement, state firm Minervén is to supply commodities trader Trafigura with between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of gold bullion with a final gold content of 98%, with Trafigura transporting the metal to American refineries under a separate agreement with the US government.
A source familiar with both the gold and oil deals said the arrangements “benefit Venezuela more now, because the country has access to American markets and a stable financial system.” The source added that corruption had previously allowed black-market smugglers to siphon off revenues, whereas now “instead of the gold going abroad — to Turkey or Iran — these resources will reach the United States.”
The gold contract is the third extraction deal concluded under the Trump administration’s oversight since Washington asserted control over Venezuela’s most abundant resource — oil. US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum travelled to Venezuela during that period to discuss oil and minerals opportunities and played a role in securing the gold contract.
President Donald Trump marked the occasion with a post on his Truth Social platform stating: “Oil is flowing, and it is a pleasure to see this level of professionalism and dedication between two countries!” He also praised Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, who announced a plan to reform the country’s mining laws following her meeting with Burgum.
Washington’s ouster of Maduro and its subsequent consolidation of control over Venezuelan resources have drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and liberals in Congress, who have accused the Trump administration of imperialism and corruption.
Gold is currently trading at approximately $166,000 per kilogram, a price that has risen amid global financial uncertainty. Oil prices have also climbed since the American-Israeli strikes on Iran, one of the world’s largest oil-producing nations