Early in July, Venezuela’s crude oil output shrank to only about 300,000 bpd with no oil rigs operating. The level is the lowest in almost nine decades.
In comparison, in July 2019, the country produced 780,000 bpd of oil.
According to Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the drop in production was due to the lack of storage capacity. This is also affected by the US sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector and the crushed demand by the coronavirus pandemic.
Other than that, PDVSA said the factors are lack of diluent required to blend with 8-10°API Orinoco crude, equipment breakdowns, and electricity outages.
