EXCLUSIVE-Venezuela begins reopening wells to recover crude output, sources say

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state oil company has begun reopening some of the wells it and its joint venture partners had shut amid a strict U.S. embargo, as crude exports resume with two shipments departed on Monday, three sources close to operations said.

The OPEC country's oil exports had remained almost at a standstill since December, with only U.S. Chevron CVX.N exporting crude from its joint ventures under a U.S. authorization, leaving millions of barrels stuck in onshore tanks and vessels.