Havana/In the midst of a political crisis and taking advantage of the opportunities provided by Washington, the Venezuelan government has managed to increase its crude oil production by 14.7% between January and July, according to data from the Ministry of Oil. This July, the figure was close to 928,000 barrels per day (bpd), 0.6% more than the previous month. The good news, however, has not reached Havana, and everything indicates that Venezuelan crude oil is increasingly scarce and the Island has to turn to other allies.
Despite resuming sanctions on Venezuelan oil last April, the United States maintained Chevron’s license and, after the six-month grace period, trade does not seem to have diminished. According to the media As Issince last July 19 in just twenty days Venezuela sent 12 ships to the US from the ports of José, Amuay and Puerto La Cruz.
The cargo belonged not only to Chevron, but also to the Spanish company Repsol, which imports Merey and Boscán crude oil, fuel oil and asphalt produced in Venezuela. “Each oil tanker has carried cargo ranging from 1,600,000 to 2 million barrels,” the media reports.
However, Caracas has not managed to increase its production to the 1 million barrels per day it set as its goal and, although it puts its output above 900,000, some experts say it actually produces only about 851,000 bpd.
However, Caracas has not managed to increase its production to the million barrels per day that it set as its goal.
The increase in production – which is far from the more than 3 million bpd that it extracted between 2000 and 2002 – was not achieved without obstacles either. After the pandemic, which brought the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) to historic lows (half a million barrels per day), it was difficult for the oil industry not only to recover the pace of production, but also of exports. Several reportsincluding one from Reuters this August, say that departures continue to accumulate delays.
With the United States being the priority market, Asia has been the one that has suffered the blow. Due to a lack of oil tankers, Venezuela has had to use the same ships to transport crude oil to several destinations, a method known as co-loadingwhich further delays deliveries.
The international market is not in Caracas’ favor either, as the increase in production is not only due to the easing of sanctions by the United States, but also to the collapse in the price of a barrel of crude oil, which went from $84.7 in 2022 to $69.2 in 2024.
While Venezuela sent 30% more oil to the United States last May than in the same month in 2023, Havana – which has depended on Chavismo in the last 24 years to cover its internal fuel demand – is receiving less and less crude. In May and also in June, the Island only received 33,700 bpd. In April, the figure was even lower, at 28,000 bpd. Both numbers are below the 56,000 barrels per day that Caracas was sending in 2023 thanks to the agreement signed in 2000 by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
The increasing supply of Russian aid – the Kremlin even announced a crazy project for a new refinery in Cuba, where there are already three – and the increase in oil purchases from Mexico are trying to compensate for the reduction in Venezuelan shipments.
The Kremlin even announced a crazy project for a new refinery in Cuba, where there are already three
In the first quarter of this year, Gasolineras Bienestar, a subsidiary of state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), sent 21,800 barrels of crude oil per day to Cuba. The amount represents a 30% increase compared to the 16,800 bpd that the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent to its allies on the island between July and December 2023.
Pemex also delivered another 3,600 bpd of gasoline and petroleum derivatives, which also means an increase of 9% compared to last year, according to The UniversalThe total value of the shipments was $200 million.
The increase in exports, which is not known whether it is in exchange for services, such as the sending of 5,000 Cuban doctors to Mexico, coincides with the Venezuelan political crisis. According to the University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón, it is an attempt by Havana to store “strategic oil reserves” in case Caracas becomes destabilized.
