After Drop in May, Venezuela Oil Exports Rise as Crude Flows to Europe Again

The first shipments of Venezuelan crude to Europe helped boost the country’s oil exports by 61%, according to PDVSA data. These exchanges had been stopped for two years due to illegal US and European sanctions.

Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI) and Spain’s Repsol (REP.MC) began taking Venezuelan crude after receiving the green light from the US State Department, a decision that was made to help Europe compensate for the loss of Russian oil, after the blockade of Russia by the US and its junior partners that began with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

The oil-for-debt swaps, seen by analysts as a sign of Washington’s relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela, occurred as US officials visited Caracas to discuss the release of imprisoned naturalized US citizens.

PDVSA and its joint ventures shipped an average of 630,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and fuel in June, a 61% increase from the previous month, and similar to the same month last year, according to Refinitiv documents and data.

According to news reports, Venezuela’s exports fell in May due to several factors, including problems managing inventories of heavy and diluted crude. As a result, oil export figures fell in May. Even with the increase in June, Venezuelan oil exports remain far below the almost one million bpd exported in December 2021, and below the target of 2.5 million bpd announced by Venezuelan Minister of Oil, Tareck El Aissami, for the end of 2022.

Although the country did not reach its historical records, the relaxation of the “sanctions” by the Biden administration has had a positive impact on the development of the country, because the US criminal blockade targeted the heart of the Venezuela’s main sector.

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL