Oil workers from Venezuela's publicly-owned PDVSA prepare to drill. Photo: PDVSA/File photo.
Venezuela has registered an increase in oil production in May of 3.7%, equivalent to 910,000 barrels per day (bpd), being the highest output figure since November 2019, continuing to advance despite the illegal sanctions imposed by the United States and their imperial allies.
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) May report, released this Tuesday, June 11, Venezuelan official sources reported an increase of 32,000 bpd as compared with April, one of the largest figures reported in recent years.
The OPEC report shows that Venezuela was the OPEC producer that reported the highest growth in May, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an increase of 16,000 bpd.
The latest OPEC report is out, so here are Venezuela's output numbers for May:
– Secondary sources report 822 kb/d (-3, stagnation).
– PDVSA reports 910 kb/d (+32, on track for 1.2-1.3 mb/d target by year-end).Remember that Bloomberg said 860 kb/d (+20, sort of in between). pic.twitter.com/tAbgmHICJI
— Orinoco Research (@OrinocoResearch) June 11, 2024
Regarding oil prices, Venezuelan Merey crude oil was quoted at an average of $70.55 per barrel in May, with a drop of $4.36 compared with the previous month. Despite this, the average price of Merey crude oil registered a year-on-year increase of 17.24% for the fifth month of 2024.
In the first quarter of 2024, Venezuelan crude oil averaged 864,000 bpd, reporting a steady growth in the month of February at 877,000 bpd and from the month of January, when it reached 841,000 bpd.
The OPEC May report further indicates that according to secondary sources, Venezuela’s oil output was of 822,000 bpd, 3,000 barrels less than the figure reported in April, of 825,000 bpd. Discrepancies between direct and secondary sources in the OPEC report are regular occurrences.
In the first quarter of 2024, oil production increased by 18% compared to the same period in 2023, according to direct (official) figures published in the monthly report of the OPEC. Furthermore, when comparing the first five months of 2024 with the same period in 2023, production has grown on average by 113,000 barrels per day, a sign of recovery for the Venezuelan oil industry.
The Venezuelan government’s estimates for this year are to increase oil production output to more than one million barrels per day, despite the intensification of unilateral coercive measures by Washington on the oil and gas sector.
Washington Revokes Oil and Gas License Issued to Venezuela (+Sanctions)
OPEC figures
Figures from the OPEC report corresponding to June, with data from May, indicated that overall OPEC production increased by an average of 29,000 barrels per day, with the rest of the OPEC nations reporting an overall change in 152,000 barrels per day, which is mainly explained by a sudden drop of 119,000 bpd of Russian output.
It noted that the largest increase was reported by Nigeria, with 74,000 bpd, while Saudi Arabia continued to bear the highest cut in production, with a drop of 32,000 bpd.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana PerdigĂłn with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
