Venezuela reported to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) a production of 820.000 barrels of crude oil per day on average last August, that is, 10.000 more than in July, according to the oil entity's report released this Tuesday.
According to the direct data that Venezuela provides to OPEC, the figure was slightly above that recorded in May, when it reached 819.000 bpd on average, despite the sanctions applied.
The August figures through direct communication from Venezuela to OPEC differ from those disclosed by the organization through “secondary sources” (estimates from independent institutes) that report that the South American nation's production was at 730.000 barrels per day on average.
In both scenarios, the figures are above the performance of oil production in previous years, which, according to direct communication, was around 636.000 barrels per day in 2021 and 716.000 in 2022.
Oil exports have traditionally been the main source of foreign exchange earnings for the country, however, its industry went through several notable setbacks in hydrocarbon production.
The country's authorities have attributed the setback to the effects of the sanctions applied by the United States against the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and other entities in the country starting in 2017.
