Venezuelan oil shipments plunged 38% in August from a three-year high in July as state-run oil giant PDVSA fought to keep its heavy crude upgraders in operation.
The Latin American country’s overall oil production and exports have increased somewhat this year, thanks to fewer outages and stronger output by Chevron CVX.
However, PDVSA’s shortage of finance, because of US sanctions since 2019, and badly maintained equipment, particularly the upgraders used to convert extra heavy oil to exportable grades, limit what the business can do to continue its growth.
According to LSEG Eikon vessel monitoring data, Venezuela’s oil shipments in August fell to around 544,000 barrels per day (bpd) from more than 877,000 bpd in July.
The majority of OPEC members’ oil and petroleum exports, including cargoes transshipped through Malaysia, continued to be routed through China.
Chevron sent 147,000 barrels per day of oil to its refineries and other U.S. consumers, down from 161,000 barrels per day in July.
