420. Under Directive 4, does the term "production" encompass activities such as transportation, refining, or other dealings in oil extracted from deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale projects?

For the purposes of Directive 4, the term "production" refers to the lifting of oil to the surface and the gathering, treating, field processing, and field storage of such oil. The production stage of a project ends when extracted oil is transported out of a field production storage tank or otherwise off of a field production site. Directive 4 does not prohibit the provision by U.S. persons or within the United States of goods, technology, or services to SSI entities when such transactions relate only to the transportation, refining, or other dealings involving oil that has already been extracted from a deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale project and transported out of a field production storage tank or otherwise off of a field production site.