We still do not realize the importance of how oil shipments from Venezuela to the United States have developed in recent months.
We went from years of not shipping a single barrel of crude oil to slowly increasing our shipments to what was our main market, before the political and economic turmoil that we won’t talk about now.
Just by extending Chevron’s licenses, production increased, so we are about to reach the goal of one million barrels of crude oil, which the politicians promised a while ago, but they did not fulfill it.
From an average of 654 thousand barrels per day (bpd) produced by PDVSA to more than 750 thousand or 800 thousand, thanks to the contribution of 150 thousand barrels from Chevron.
This contribution from Chevron is possible because of the agreements between President Maduro and Joe Biden, because the company has wells in Venezuela and it is only a matter of continuing its operations.
And to achieve this, Chevron’s president worked hard in the US to get the license extension.
In September and October, production dropped slightly, due to factors inherent to the consequences of sanctions and poor management of the oil industry.
But the prospects are that this month the production will increase again, which will exceed 800 thousand and reach 900 thousand or one million bpd before the end of the year.
And not only that, but thanks to the production of Chevron, which sent about 250 thousand barrels to the United States, Venezuela was able to rise from the 14th to the sixth place, among the main suppliers of crude oil in that country.
Another view
However, we must also emphasize that Chevron is not only allowed to continue its operations in Venezuela, but PDVSA or President Maduro himself trusts it with other activities.
To sum it up, the verification of wells, the logistics of active and disposable wells, as well as the exploration of possible new areas of exploitation, marketing logistics, commercialization, sales and others.
Another important element is that Chevron is also in charge of diagnosing the logistics of fuel supply in the country, as well as transportation, marketing and even the distribution of fuel itself.
This logistics includes coordinating the arrival of 900 containers of fuel that they brought to the country, because they noticed that one of the problems is its distribution.
More companies
And the panorama became clearer, because this month, thanks to the relief of sanctions, the French company Maurel & Prom joined, which committed to triple its production from 60 thousand barrels per day to of 180 thousand, which is added to the existing one.
This is how in March 2024 it will reach 1.2 million barrels per day, with an increase of 300 thousand directly for the US.
Changes
This situation has changed US policy towards Venezuela and we have discussed it in other columns, but it is already a fact.
In one of my recent trips, a Republican senator told me that things have changed in his country, because “now Maduro Sr. SocÃas gives us oil.”
It should be noted that crude oil has been in great demand in the United States, mainly because of the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
The price of oil has not yet increased, due to various factors, including the reserves that many countries have of crude oil.
But next year, it is estimated that the price will increase and this will benefit Venezuela.
This arrival of oil in the US prompted the relaxation of sanctions against the country, and not according to our Confidential Information, the Barbados agreement.
So there is no failure to ease the sanctions, as said there, and the estimates point to a great increase in production, crude oil trade, exchange and after that, relations with the United States.
