With Iranian aid, Venezuela was able to circumvent U.S. sanctions, doubling its oil exports in December.
According to Bloomberg, Venezuela exported an average of 619,000 barrels of crude oil per day last December, the third consecutive month of export growth, largely due to technical assistance and diluents from ally Iran.
Petroleos de Venezuela SA said Venezuelan oil production had reached a key mark of 1 million barrels per day in December, averaging 625,000 barrels per day throughout November.
The United States, once the premier export destination for Venezuelan crude, has stepped up sanctions against Venezuela since 2017, cutting off its crude oil's access to U.S. refineries. Diluents are also on the sanctions list – Venezuela produces mostly overweight oils that need to be treated with diluents before export.
Affected by this, coupled with buyers in India and Spain also turning a blind eye to Venezuelan oil, Venezuela has adopted an unorthodox strategy in recent years, circumventing U.S. sanctions by hiding its technical sources.
In 2021, as global demand continues to recover, Brent crude prices rose by more than 50%, the biggest increase since 2016, against the backdrop of oil exports on the rise, and OPEC and its allies are likely to increase oil supplies as OPEC's trade surplus in the first quarter was smaller than initially expected.
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