Crude output in Venezuela’s key Orinoco oil belt plunged by a quarter to less than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August due to a shortage of diluents needed to blend with the region’s extra-heavy crude, documents seen by Reuters showed. The drop comes as state oil company PDVSA directs more medium and light crudes to refine to boost supplies of scarce motor fuel in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation, leaving little to dilute the Orinoco’s tar-like crude into exportable grades. read more Diluent shortages could threaten the relative stability in the South American country’s oil output and exports in 2021, after years of underinvestment followed by U.S. sanctions sent crude production – the lifeblood of Venezuela’s […]