Oil wells over the Venezuelan national flag. Internet photo via DiarioVEA.
Venezuelan oil production continues to increase, rising from 1,095,000 barrels per day in March to 1,136,000 barrels per day in April—an increase of 40,000 barrels, or 3.7%. This emerges from official figures contained in a report published this Wednesday, 13 May, by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
So far this year, production in the country—which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves—has risen by 22.9%, up from 924,000 bpd in January. In February, output rose to 1,021,000 barrels per day, and in March to 1,095,000 bpd.
The average price of Venezuela’s Merey 16 crude reached 90.47 US dollars per barrel. The report, covering May with April figures, shows that Venezuelan crude recorded an increase of 4.55 US dollars compared to the close of March, in contrast to the OPEC basket, whose value fell by 7.57 US dollars to 108.79 US dollars per barrel.
According to specialized economic media, this is the first time in more than a decade that Merey has reached 90 US dollars per barrel. In 2016, it closed at 35.15 US dollars.
Merey crude is one of the main varieties of heavy oil produced in Venezuela and serves as one of the benchmark markers for Venezuelan oil pricing.
Following the events of January 3, 2026, the Trump administration has issued a series of licences partially lifting restrictions that it had itself unilaterally imposed over more than a decade against Venezuela’s hydrocarbon sector. Most of these licences provide authorizations for US industries while maintaining restrictions on countries the US considers adversaries: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
Selling oil to the US was consistent Venezuelan foreign policy during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and was subsequently continued by constitutional head of state Nicolás Maduro.
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Featured image: Oil wells over the Venezuelan national flag. Internet photo via DiarioVEA.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
