<h1>Caribbean nation secures six-month US Treasury/OFAC license for sanctioned-free initial gas-field negotiations in Venezuelan waters</h1> A Caribbean nation obtained a US Treasury/OFAC license permitting six months of sanctioned-free negotiations for development of a gas field in neighboring Venezuelan waters, limited to initial talks rather than full project activities. The license follows a May request and recent high-level US-government engagement and is conditioned on commercial targets and safeguards to avoid providing significant benefit to the Venezuelan government. Officials view the project as vital to boosting gas production and revenues; successful completion of the first negotiating stage would allow progression toward exploitation under the license's terms.