On March 1, Reuters reported that Venezuela’s oil exports fell by 40% in the first month after the United States imposed sanctions to overthrow Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, according to data from state-owned oil companies PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon.
On 28 January, President Trump’s government banned American customers from paying for Venezuelan oil until a new government was formed by the head of state, Juan Guaido.
Data show that Venezuela’s exports of crude oil and fuel have since fallen to 920,000 barrels a day (bpd). Data show that crude oil and fuel exports in the first three months ranged from 1.47 million barrels to 1.66 million barrels.
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Since January 28, nearly 70% of Venezuela’s oil shipments have been concentrated in PDVSA customers in Asia, with India ranking first among the top destinations, followed by Singapore and China. Singapore is a hub for storage, transshipment and re-export.
Data show that before the sanctions, Europe imported a small amount of Venezuelan oil, accounting for 15%, followed by the United States, 11%, and the Caribbean region, accounting for 2%.
PDVSA exports 675,000 barrels of crude oil and 245,000 barrels of fuel per day, compared with 1.28 million barrels to 1.46 million barrels per day and 200,000 barrels per day before manufacturing. These figures do not include goods that have been shipped but are trapped at sea.
Venezuela’s oil minister, Manuel Quevedo, said at a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Thursday that “PDVSA (and) the whole country has been brutally hit by the U.S. government, seriously affecting the company’s finances and operations.”
PDVSA has increased the scale of crude oil for fuel, trading with customers and trading companies to prevent oil from flowing to foreign markets during the sanctions period.
At least 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil and finished oil are expected to be delivered in March, according to a review by Reuters of tankers waiting to be loaded or arriving at the port of PDVSA.
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PDVSA’s purchases of gasoline, diesel, diluted naphtha and other fuels have increased to meet most of the country’s consumption after tankers carrying imported fuels were forced to emit under uncertainties caused by U.S. sanctions.
Throughout the month after the sanctions, PDVSA imported 165,000 barrels of fuel a day, mainly from the United States and Europe. The sanctions prohibit the United States from exporting excess Venezuelan oil to an exportable grade of diluent, but allow the sale of other fuels to Venezuela in the coming months.
PDVSA said Thursday it has enough fuel for domestic consumption and will develop a special gasoline supply plan during the carnival holiday. But no specific information was disclosed.
Venezuela imported more than 300,000 barrels of fuel a day in December, an all-time high, due to insufficient capacity of its refineries to produce gasoline and other automotive fuels. During 2018, the company imported about 200,000 barrels of fuel a day.
In recent weeks, Venezuela has been paying high prices for fuel purchased, mainly by trading companies, Russian Petroleum Corporation and Spanish company Repsol, which can continue to trade gasoline for Venezuelan crude oil under pre-sanctions agreements.
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