OPEC Wednesday announced that oil pumping in Venezuela in November reached 697.000 bpd. But one country's increase in production may not have a positive impact in the near future in view of OPEC's decision to curb output in an attempt to keep inventories at a level that holds profit margins attractive.
Venezuelan oil exports fell by 17% in May compared to April, due to the difficulty to sell barrels of heavy crude oil that US refiners used to buy and process before the sanctions imposed on the Nicolás Maduro government, reported Reuters.
Soldiers oversaw rationing of gasoline at service stations in several parts of Venezuela on Sunday as worsening fuel shortages forced angry drivers to wait for hours to fill their tanks, prompting protests in some areas.
Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA is considering a declaration of force majeure on some of its oil supply contracts in June unless its clients agree to accept volume reductions of up to 50%, Argus reported on Tuesday, citing PDVSA officials.
An international arbitration court has ordered Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA to pay ConocoPhillips US$ 2.04 billion for early dissolution of two joint ventures for producing oil in the OPEC-member country, the U.S. firm said.
Venezuela’s oil production is running 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) short of its historic output but it is something that the country must address itself, Ecuador oil minister Carlos Perez said. Caracas should address the shortfall on its own, added Perez on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.