The United States imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s oil sector, including the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, in Washington’s latest move to increase pressure on Tehran

The move will provide partial relief to widespread fuel shortages in the once-prosperous OPEC nation, whose 1.3 million- bpd refining network is mostly halted because of years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance

Venezuela exported about 388,100 barrels per day of crude and fuel in July, almost unchanged versus the previous month, as US sanctions on PDVSA continued limiting sales

The plan to shut wells at the onshore portions of the Lagunillas and Bachaquero fields near Lake Maracaibo is due to a lack of available storage space as inventories mount due to a drop in exports

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed his economy vice president as interim oil minister and also replaced the head of the state oil company PDVSA