Petroleos de Venezuela SA hired a public relations agency founded by Margaret Thatcher ’s press adviser, two people familiar with the matter said, as Venezuela sells U.S. refineries and responds to World Bank court rulings. PDVSA, as the state-owned oil producer is known, contracted Tim Bell’s Bell Pottinger Private in May to improve its image abroad, said the people, who asked not to be identified because it hasn’t been made public. It’s the first time the company has hired an international PR firm since late-President Hugo Chavez began his so-called Bolivarian revolution in 1999. PDVSA, which accounts for 97 percent of Venezuela’s dollar earnings, is struggling to fund record social spending and subsidies, leading to shortages of everything from razors to flour in a country with the largest oil reserves. President Nicolas Maduro , Chavez’s handpicked replacement, is facing the world’s fastest inflation and foreign reserves near 11-year lows. […]