CARACAS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government will supply Colombia's border region of Norte de Santander with 8 million liters of gasoline every month starting Thursday, Venezuelan state oil giant PDVSA said Sunday.

    The supply could be further boosted to 19 million liters per month, the PDVSA said.

    The move, part of an agreement signed between the PDVSA and its Colombian counterpart Ecopetrol, is aimed at containing the rampant smuggling of Venezuelan oil into Colombia.

    As one of the world's top oil producers, Venezuela sells fuel in its domestic market for very low prices, which is around 0.15 U.S. dollars per gallon.

    However, this has prompted the smuggling of cheap Venezuelan fuel into Colombia, which is suffering like many other countries amid soaring oil prices.