The U.S. Department of the Treasury relaxed its licenses on Venezuela, allowing contracts to recognize Venezuela's sovereign regulatory authority, as well as its permitting, labor, environmental, health and safety rules, though U.S. law will still control interpretation, payment obligations and enforceability, Bloomberg reported on June 10. The changes also increased the lists of jurisdictions for dispute resolution to include the United Kingdom, France and Singapore.

The changes come amid ongoing negotiations between oil companies and the Venezuelan government and as PDVSA works on a production contract draft to formalize these engagements. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control introduced the changes as the White House seeks to attract private sector capital to revamp Venezuela's oil and gas and other economic sectors following the Jan. 3 capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.