Chevron has been banned from drilling or transporting oil in Venezuela and its assets there are “mothballed” as the Trump administration cracks down on money going to the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a senior U.S. official said. The restriction is expected to further reduce Venezuela’s crude output, which has fallen by 20% so far this year due to the collapse in oil prices and intensifying U.S. sanctions. Chevron had already halted many of the activities Washington has now prohibited. Seeking to increase pressure on Maduro, the U.S. Treasury Department late on Tuesday imposed tight new restrictions on Chevron’s joint ventures with Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA, which could pave the way for the California-based company’s departure, after operating in Venezuela for about 100 years. The license prohibits Chevron or any American company from drilling, bartering or selling oil or petroleum products with the Maduro government […]