Venezuela’s PDVSA produced between 926,000 and 965,000 bpd of crude oil last month, up by as much as 20 percent from the previous month when the average was 761,000 bpd, unnamed sources close to the company told Reuters. The output of superheavy oil in the Orinoco belt where most of Venezuela’s oil wealth is concentrated averaged 465,000-502,000 bpd last month.
Bloomberg reported in early November, citing shipping data, that Venezuela had loaded almost 11 million barrels of crude in just the first 11 days of the month, which was more than twice as much as it did in the same period last month. Most of the oil seemed to have gone to India and China, with half of the vessels transporting it turning their transponders off to avoid detection.
Earlier this year, under U.S. pressure, most Venezuelan oil buyers pulled back from doing business with PDVSA. In October, however, India’s Reliance Industries decided to restart its direct trade with the Venezuelan oil company, which immediately affected shipments. Spain’s Repsol also braved the U.S. in restarting the buying of heavy crude from Venezuela.