
The United States is preparing a “series of actions” in the coming days to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Friday.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that new investments from China will help his country dramatically boost its oil production, doubling down on financing from the Asian nation to turn around its crashing economy.

A judge in Andorra has charged 29 Venezuelans with corruption - among them two former deputy ministers. Prosecutors allege that they were part of a network of corrupt officials who received US$ 2.3bn in bribes from companies in return for lucrative contracts with Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is appealing a decision allowing Canadian miner Crystallex to take control of shares in U.S. subsidiary PDV Holdings as part of a 10 year dispute over the state takeover of Crystallex assets, a court filing shows.

Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA has limited the damage from an unprecedented slump in crude exports by transferring oil between tankers at sea and loading vessels in neighboring Cuba to avoid asset seizures. But Venezuela is still fulfilling less than 60% of its obligations under supply deals with customers.

Venezuela is taking steps to direct dwindling motor fuel to politically loyal vehicle owners. President Nicolas Maduro ordered a national census on 3-5 August to determine how many vehicle owners possess a homeland identity card, a document created in first quarter 2017 to strengthen the government's social and political surveillance capabilities.

Venezuela’s oil production plunged by another 47,500 barrels per day (bpd) in June, compared to a month earlier. An exodus of workers and field shut downs were reported for the month, pointing to a grim near-term future that could see total production dip below 1 million barrels per day (mb/d) by the end of the year.

Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA is considering a declaration of force majeure on some of its oil supply contracts in June unless its clients agree to accept volume reductions of up to 50%, Argus reported on Tuesday, citing PDVSA officials.

Geopolitics has taken over the oil market, driving oil prices up to three-year highs. The inventory surplus has vanished, and more outages could push oil prices up even higher. Yet, there are some signs that demand is starting to take a hit as oil closes in on $80 per barrel.

Oil prices rose for the fourth straight day on Monday to hit levels not seen since late 2014, boosted by the latest trouble for Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and the possibility that the United States could re-impose sanctions on Iran.