WILLEMSTAD - Venezuela's crude oil and fuel exports saw a significant decline of nearly 9% in September, following two major power blackouts and equipment malfunctions at the state-owned energy company PDVSA’s crude upgraders. Ship monitoring data and documents revealed that these disruptions affected the country’s oil output and exports, which had previously been recovering from record lows between 2020 and 2022. 

In late August, a large-scale power outage that affected much of the country forced the suspension of refineries, oil terminals, and the four crude upgraders responsible for processing the Orinoco Belt's extra-heavy oil. This disruption lasted into early September. A subsequent power failure days later, combined with equipment malfunctions, further disabled three upgraders for several more days, compounding the problem. 

Despite these setbacks, September saw a total of 42 vessels departing Venezuelan waters, transporting an average of 842,600 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel. Additionally, 267,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals were shipped. While this was lower than August’s strong export figures, it was still an improvement over the same period last year. 

In August, PDVSA and its joint ventures reached a monthly export figure of 925,000 bpd, the highest since early 2020. This growth in export activity came despite ongoing operational challenges. 

Asia led the way in September’s exports, receiving 510,000 bpd, while the United States followed closely with around 212,000 bpd, sourced from Chevron’s joint ventures with PDVSA. Exports to Europe increased, with Spain’s Repsol shipping 97,000 bpd. However, shipments to Cuba experienced a sharp decline, dropping to just 22,000 bpd. 

The U.S. Treasury Department has played a crucial role in facilitating Venezuela’s oil exports to North America and Europe this year by granting individual authorizations to several energy companies, including Chevron, Repsol, Eni, and Maurel & Prom. These approvals have helped boost exports despite continued sanctions. 

Venezuela has also made efforts to maintain steady oil shipments to China, with a significant portion of exports passing through Malaysia for ship-to-ship transfers, according to vessel tracking data. 

In addition to its exports, Venezuela imported 67,000 bpd of fuel and diluents in September, a decrease from 90,000 bpd in August. The country continues to grapple with operational issues, a lack of investment, and U.S. sanctions, which continue to restrict PDVSA’s ability to fully restore its output capacity.