"This extension will further enable CITGO's ongoing operations while prohibiting any benefit from flowing back to the illegitimate Maduro regime," an unnamed Treasury spokesperson said in a statement.

The US Treasury said the updated license provides an 18-month authorization that renews automatically on a monthly basis.

Washington charges that Maduro's 2108 re-election was a fraud and has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido, the head of the National Assembly, as the country's interim president. The Trump administration has hit Maduro's government, his political allies and PDVSA with a series of sanctions and has threatened further measures.

The sweeping financial sanctions against PDVSA, aimed at curbing crude exports to the United States and driving Maduro from power, were the strongest measures yet against Venezuela's vital oil sector. US companies doing oil business with Venezuela have been ordered to divert payments to special blocked accounts.