Washington has relaxed sanctions on Venezuela's energy industry since US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in early January. It previously granted several general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports, and sales from Venezuela.

The new general license authorizes the provision of US goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil and gas in Venezuela. The license does not authorize the formation of new joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to explore or produce oil or gas.

Oil drillers need US authorization to use specialized equipment in Venezuela and to import rigs required to expand Venezuela’s oil output, currently about 1 million barrels per day. The US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday that Venezuela's crude oil production could see an increase of up to 20% in the coming months.