Venezuelan oil worker. File photo.
Venezuela recorded its highest average monthly crude oil production yet this year in June according to a monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released Wednesday, July 10.
According to direct OPEC sources, Venezuelan production rose last month to 922,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 12,000 more than in May, a month in which the country also reached a peak for 2024.
According to secondary sources, Venezuela produced 851,000 barrels of crude oil per day last June, 21,000 more than the previous month, and the highest figure of the year, according to the OPEC monthly report.
📌🛢️ Producción de petróleo de junio sube a 922 mil b/d | El más reciente reporte de la Opep cifra la producción de la industria petrolera venezolana en 922 mil barriles diarios para el mes de junio, el mayor volumen en lo que va de año y lo que da cuenta de un aumento de 12 mil… pic.twitter.com/Yc1r9z6Q5P
— Últimas Noticias (@UNoticias) July 10, 2024
Data recorded so far this year show a notable recovery in Venezuelan oil production compared to 2023 and 2022, when the average was 783,000 and 716,000 barrels per day, respectively, according to direct sources.
The OPEC report also noted that the price of Merey crude oil, the reference for Venezuela, averaged US $69.23 per barrel in June, a drop of US $1.32 compared to May (US $70.55).
Oil exports have traditionally been Venezuela’s largest source of foreign currency earnings, but crude oil production has suffered a sharp decline over the past five years due to coercive economic measures—euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”—imposed by the United States against the publicly owned petroleum company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).
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Despite the pressure of over 900 unilateral coercive measures that are especially directed against Venezuela’s basic industries such as the oil industry, the nation has shown an improvement in oil production. The issuing of special licenses by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), permitting limited operations of select oil corporations, has also provided a boost to Venezuela’s production.
(Xinhua) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
