The U.S. Treasury on Thursday gave U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp a further 18 months to buy crude and make debt payments while under sanctions against its parent, Venezuelan state-run energy firm Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The United States levied sanctions in January on PDVSA and Venezuela aimed at the removal of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States and about 50 other countries no longer recognize as the country’s legitimate leader. The sanctions prohibited Citgo and other companies from making payments for oil revenue directly to Venezuela, but have limited the Houston-based refiner’s ability to refinance debt. “This extension will further enable Citgo’s ongoing operations while prohibiting any benefit from flowing back to the illegitimate Maduro regime,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. The license extension would […]