Venezuela Output Could Fall 30% Under US Sanctions

Venezuelan oil production is at a four-year high but will decline quickly if US sanctions return, according to Bloomberg.

• Output stood at 876k b/d in Dec, the highest since sanctions were imposed in early 2019.
• It remains unclear whether Chevron will continue to hold its limited operations in the country, or if a total ban will come into force.
• Nevertheless, production could fall by 0.6m-0.7m b/d in a matter of months, according to Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risk at Rapidan Energy Advisors.
• “It’s too premature to estimate what’s going to happen, but if I were a buyer of Venezuelan crude I’d stock up before April 18,” Ferreira said, cited by Bloomberg.
• The US government will not renew the sanctions relief on Venezuela unless there is progress on allowing all presidential candidates to compete in this year’s election. according to Matthew Miller, US State Department Spokesperson.