Photographer: Ana Maria Otero Borjas / Bloomberg
Photographer: Ana Maria Otero Borjas / Bloomberg
Venezuelan oil exports plummeted this month, as U.S. sanctions have left some of the South American country’s cargo stranded in Asia and competition with other OPEC + members is likely to heat up.
A key element of the Venezuelan economy, sales fell about half of November to 231,613 barrels per day, according to shipment reports and ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. This leaves annual exports at their lowest levels in nearly seven decades.
Cargoes loaded in December could arrive in Asia as early as January, at a time when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies increase supply and are scheduled to decide whether to further increase production the following month at a meeting on 4 January.
Dive
Venezuelan oil exports fell to a 71-year low in 2020 amid sanctions
Source: Venezuelan government data, shipment reports and vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg
Venezuela was able to defy US sanctions against state-owned producer Petroleos de Venezuela SA and continue to send some oil abroad, mainly to China. But Washington has stepped up its crackdown on companies that break restrictions and PDVSA, as the company is known, has struggled to sell its barrels in Asia.
- Click here to download the PDF of the cargoes and volumes of the ships
Oil tankers who left Venezuelan ports in April are known to unload their contents months later, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ships typically incur daily fees, and long waits to dock can be expensive under standard shipping contracts.
The ships carrying Venezuelan oil were they said they had turned off their satellite signaling devices and painted over their names to hide their identity and avoid detection, said people with knowledge of the situation.