The U.S. government is working to issue a general license this week that would allow companies to produce oil and gas in Venezuela, as Washington seeks to encourage increased production in the OPEC member country since the arrest of its president. Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the move by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control would permit companies to explore for and extract crude oil and natural gas. The office had already allowed U.S. companies to sell, store, and refine Venezuelan oil under a general license issued last month. It also issued a separate license on Tuesday to sell the U.S. diluents needed for processing.
