Venezuela's September Oil Exports Achieve Strong Yearly Surge

Breaking News: Venezuela's Oil Exports Exceed 800,000 bpd

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On October 2nd, Venezuela celebrated a remarkable achievement in its oil industry, with September witnessing a surge in oil exports, surpassing 800,000 barrels per day (bpd). This marks the second-highest monthly average of the year, reflecting the remarkable efforts of the state-run oil firm, PDVSA, and its joint ventures, particularly in the Orinoco Belt.

Throughout this year, Venezuela has made steady strides in increasing overall crude production and exports. However, this journey has been marked by occasional fluctuations due to recurring power outages, maintenance challenges, and limited investments for expanding output.

In the month of September, PDVSA and its collaborative partners successfully shipped an average of 812,000 bpd of crude and fuel, primarily destined for China, either through direct exports or trans-shipment hubs.

Notably, Chevron's oil exports from Venezuela to the United States experienced a minor dip, going from 147,000 bpd in August to 145,000 bpd in September, as per PDVSA's documents and LSEG tanker tracking data. It's worth mentioning that Chevron had obtained a U.S. license last November to enhance its four joint venture operations, allowing for consistent output growth throughout this year. Looking ahead, the U.S. producer aims to further boost their combined venture output to 200,000 bpd through an upcoming drilling campaign in the coming year.

The surge in exports during September can be attributed primarily to increased production and processing of extra heavy crude in Venezuela's main oil region, the Orinoco Belt. This region faced disruptions in crude blending in August due to power outages, but the situation improved significantly in September, as indicated in the documents.

However, this surge in exports did lead to a reduction in PDVSA's inventories of its flagship export crude grade, Merey 16, by the end of the month, as revealed in one of the documents. This reduction may have implications for future exports in the coming months.

In terms of crude production, Venezuela reported an output of 820,000 bpd in August, surpassing the 810,000 bpd produced in July. This contributed to an accumulated average of approximately 785,000 bpd so far this year.

Venezuela also extended a friendly hand to its top political ally, Cuba, by increasing exports to the nation to approximately 86,000 bpd. These exports included crude, fuel oil, gas oil, and gasoline, up from 65,000 bpd in August. This move is particularly significant as Cuba has been grappling with fuel shortages and recently warned of potential blackouts due to low fuel inventories needed to power its plants.

Furthermore, Venezuela facilitated the import of Iranian crude and U.S. heavy naphtha between late August and September. These imports play a crucial role in refining and crude blending operations in the Orinoco region, further highlighting the nation's commitment to stabilizing and growing its oil industry.

Source : Reuters (Reporting by Marianna Parraga)