Venezuela is ramping up coal production and exports to Europe as the South American country seeks alternative revenue streams amid tighter US sanctions on its oil industry. The country’s coal exports tripled to 310,000 tons in 2019, generating nearly $40 million, after Washinton initiated the sanctions on state-owned PDVSA in January of that year. Tanker tracking data suggest that Venezuela’s coal exports are on course to surpass last year’s level, with shipments through June reaching 365,000 tons, worth $37 million.
The rising coal exports highlight how Venezuela adapts to find external revenues amid US sanctions on its crucial oil and gold industries. However, revenues from exports of coal and other commodities are still far below billions of dollars of lost oil revenues.
The UK is Venezuela’s main coal export destination in Europe. The country, which also puts financial sanctions on Venezuela, imported coal worth GBP23.6 million ($30.83 million) of Venezuelan coal, increasing from GBP13.2 million in 2019 and zero in 2018.
Venezuela was Latin America’s third-largest coal producer in the mid-2000s after boosting output to 8 million tons/year from 100,000 tons/year in 1988. However, the country’s socialist regime increased the state’s role in the industry, causing production to decline to just 170,000 tons in 2017. In 2018, state-owned coal company Carbozulia set up a joint venture Carboturven with Turkey’s Glenmore Proje Insaat, in a bid to boost mining output.
