If the long-term prospects for Venezuela’s oil industry remain uncertain as long as recovery and exports continue to be inhibited by a combination of United States sanctions and the reduced efficiency of the country’s oil infrastructure, recent reports suggests that a protracted period of drastic production decline has, just recently, been broken by a notable surge in production levels.
Earlier this month, S&P Global Platts, the international energy and commodities information provider, reported that Venezuela had produced 750,000 barrels per day (b/d) in December, reportedly its highest production volume in any single month since February 2020.
Venezuela’s increase in its oil recovery output last month is attributed largely to the support which the Maduro administration has been securing from Iran in the form of critical condensate necessary to dilute its ultra-heavy crude, recoverable mostly in the country’s operations in the Orinoco Belt.