According OPEC’s secondary sources data — provided by independent groups — Venezuela’s oil production fell by another 82,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December, taking output down to 1.745 million barrels per day (mb/d). That is certainly a bad result, but not drastically different from the pace of declines from the months before. However, data that came directly from the Venezuelan government says that the country’s output plunged by a massive 216,000 bpd in December, dropping to 1.621 mb/d. It’s a staggering figure, and points to a more serious collapse. OPEC provides those two sources of data — secondary sources and direct communication — in its monthly reports, and sometimes the data directly from the country can be overstated or understated, which can be the result of differing data collection practices, but also sometimes depends on some political motivations. At times, Venezuela has submitted inflated numbers relative to the […]