BarbriSFCourseDetails
  • videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month April 30, 2026 @ 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Energy
  • schedule 90 minutes

Venezuelan Oil Sanctions: Structuring Energy Transactions Under OFAC General License No. 46

BarbriPdBannerMessage

About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will examine OFAC General License 46 and the evolving U.S. sanctions framework for Venezuelan-origin oil. The panel will discuss structuring and documenting transactions to fit within authorized activity while managing remaining sanctions, export controls, banking regulatory hurdles, and contractual risk.

Description

The panel will discuss the evolving Venezuelan sanction timeline and the new market context now that GL 46 is in place. Practitioners advising on cross-border energy transactions must interpret the license text to create operational controls, including screening protocols, payment-channel governance, counterparty diligence, contract contingencies, records management, and wind-down language if authorizations change again. The panel will address the scope of covered actors and conduct as well as the complexity of multi-agency compliance that can derail commercial deals.

Listen as our panel discusses practical approaches for drafting and negotiating agreements, with consideration of best practices for representations, conditions precedent, termination and suspension rights, risk allocation, compliance covenants, and dispute-readiness measures for Venezuelan-origin oil transactions under OFAC's GL No. 46. 

Presented By

Seth DuCharme
Partner and Chair of the Government Enforcement & Investigations Practice
Bracewell LLP

Mr. DuCharme chairs Bracewell’s national Government Enforcement & Investigations (GEI) practice and provides personal attention, a formidable presence and highly responsive counsel to clients facing government scrutiny. He works directly with companies and individuals to navigate complex enforcement challenges, ensuring that every matter receives his focused involvement and strategic guidance. Known for his accessibility and hands-on approach, Mr. DuCharme partners closely with clients to address urgent needs and leverage his experience serving in senior leadership positions at the Department of Justice to deliver practical, effective solutions when the stakes are highest. He represents companies and individuals in the investigation and defense of a variety of federal and state regulatory, criminal and civil matters, including matters relating to healthcare, cryptocurrency enforcement, national security, cross border regulation, cyber security and data breach response, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) diligence and litigation, Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), export controls, sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering.

Luciano Racco
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig LLP

Mr. Racco advises clients on a wide range of international trade regulations, including sanctions and export controls under the Export Administration Regulations, Foreign Trade Regulations, International Traffic in Arms Regulations), and Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations. He also routinely counsels clients on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) regulations, anti-boycott laws, Withhold Release Orders, and anti-corruption laws including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Racco provides clients with a variety of trade compliance services, such as: transaction-related due diligence; counseling on, and the preparation of, filings to CFIUS; determining the export classifications of products; advising on and preparing export license applications; providing advice and counsel on a wide range of sanctions questions; complying with, and challenging WROs and findings of forced labor by Customs and Border Protection; delivering compliance training; and helping clients design and implement tailored international trade compliance policies and procedures. In addition, he has conducted hundreds of internal investigations related to potential violations of international trade compliance regulations and has extensive experience drafting voluntary disclosures to relevant agencies. 

Credit Information
  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Thursday, April 30, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT

I. Sanctions timeline and market context

II. GL 46 scope and limits: covered actors, covered conduct, interpretation

III. Transaction structuring under OFAC GL No. 46

IV. U.S. regulatory compliance, interagency overlap, operational constraints

V. Disputes, enforcement, and wind-down preparedness

VI. Practitioner takeaways

The panel will explore these and other key areas:

  • Identifying what changed in practical terms once GL 46 took effect
  • Distinguishing covered actors and covered conduct under OFAC GL No. 46
  • Drafting and negotiating core contract protections
  • Coordinating OFAC analysis with related U.S. regulatory touchpoints
  • Anticipating enforcement and private dispute exposure
  • Building wind-down preparedness into agreements