The U.S. government is working to issue as early as this week a general license allowing companies to produce oil and gas in Venezuela, as Washington seeks to encourage expanded output in the OPEC nation since capturing its president, three sources close to the matter told Reuters. The move by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control would authorize companies to explore and pump for crude oil and natural gas, the sources said. OFAC already authorized U.S. companies to sell, store and refine Venezuelan oil in a first general license issued last month, and on Tuesday also issued a separate license allowing for the sale of U.S. diluents needed to process Venezuelan crude grades into exportable oil.