Venezuela News — More Airlines, More Oil Deals, an Exile Comes Home

Treasury cleared the way for U.S. suppliers to service Venezuela’s state airline this week, issuing General License 59 to authorize parts, maintenance, and software for Conviasa’s grounded fleet, alongside an amended General License 24A on telecommunications and mail. Repsol agreed with PDVSA to expand the Petroquiriquire joint venture on Lake Maracaibo, adding roughly 20,000 barrels per day of light crude on top of the existing 40,000. Caracas retained Greenberg Traurig to accelerate oil-contract work ahead of an August deadline tied to the reformed Hydrocarbons Law. Five international airline routes lined up for the second half of 2026, with two anchored in the United States.

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OFAC lets U.S. suppliers service Venezuela’s state airline Conviasa. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 59 on June 18, authorizing U.S.-linked suppliers and service providers to ship parts, software, and maintenance services to Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos (Conviasa), Venezuela’s state airline. The license covers airworthiness work, technical support, inspections, testing, logistics, and payment processing, the conditions needed to return aircraft to service after years on the ground. The license does not unblock Conviasa’s frozen assets or authorize commercial flights to the United States, and it excludes transactions involving entities linked to Russia, Iran, North Korea, or Cuba. Treasury also issued an amended General License 24A the same day, reissuing authorizations on telecommunications and mail. U.S. Department of the Treasury

Repsol agrees with PDVSA to add 20,000 barrels per day to the Petroquiriquire joint venture. Spain’s Repsol and PDVSA signed a preliminary agreement on June 16 to expand the Petroquiriquire joint venture on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo, with potential to add roughly 20,000 barrels per day of very light crude on top of the joint venture’s current 40,000 bpd. The agreement also opens exploratory opportunities in the same area. Repsol holds a 40 percent stake in Petroquiriquire and announced in April it had reached a separate agreement with Caracas to regain operational control and triple Venezuelan output within three years.

Backed by Washington, opposition leader Dinorah Figuera returns from exile to negotiate a new electoral authority. Dinorah Figuera, president of Venezuela’s opposition-elected 2015 National Assembly, returned to Caracas on June 18 after eight years of exile in Spain, traveling at the invitation of the U.S. State Department. She met with Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the official National Assembly, to launch a joint technical committee tasked with building a credible electoral authority and laying the groundwork for democratic transition. Figuera left for Miami two days later for follow-up meetings and plans to return to Caracas in roughly one month. The visit traces back to an April meeting in Washington between Figuera and Michael Kozak, the State Department’s undersecretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Infobae

Energy Sector

On the ground in Maturín

Halliburton’s Maturín base and the adjacent Baroid yard, today. The U.S. oilfield-services giant has not yet announced a return to Venezuela.

Deal Flow

Five international routes to Venezuela line up for the second half of 2026. Five international routes are now scheduled to activate or expand into Venezuela in the second half of the year. American Airlines began Miami–Maracaibo on June 14; United Airlines plans Caracas–Houston starting August 11; Qatar Airways launches Doha–Bogotá–Caracas on July 22; ITA Airways resumes Rome–Caracas; and Avianca filed for seven weekly Medellín–Caracas flights. The country now has 165 international weekly flights and connections to 13 international destinations, with two of the new routes anchored in the United States. Bitácora Económica

Economy

PDVSA adds Greenberg Traurig to accelerate the oil-contract push. PDVSA retained U.S. firm Greenberg Traurig to assist with oil-contract negotiations and regulatory compliance ahead of an August deadline tied to the reformed Hydrocarbons Law. The hire lands a week after Caracas signed Hogan Lovells and Centerview Partners on the sovereign debt restructuring track, signaling Venezuela is staffing up a U.S. legal bench in parallel with the new contracting wave. Banca y Negocios

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