WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The United States has extended a license that protects Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors through May 5, according to a posting on Thursday on the Treasury Department's website.

The extension comes a day after Washington issued a general license broadly authorizing U.S. companies to do business with Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, a key step that could secure investment and, in the longer term, increase the country's crude production capacity.

Washington has been easing sanctions on Venezuela since U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in January, with the U.S. government taking control of the OPEC country's oil sale proceeds through a fund.