Kamal Ghorui
Venezuela’s oil is flowing across the world again, and at its fastest pace in more than seven years. In April, the country’s crude exports jumped 14% to 1.23 million barrels per day, powered by stronger demand from the United States, India and Europe, according to shipping data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA.The sharp rise from March came as the South American producer continued reducing stockpiles and rebuilding crude production after the January US capture of President Nicolas Maduro. That development paved the way for a major oil supply arrangement between US President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez.The agreement, along with US licences that softened sanctions earlier this year, opened the door for PDVSA’s partners and major trading firms such as Vitol and Trafigura to lift Venezuelan crude for refiners across multiple global markets, including North America, Europe and Asia, Reuters reported.During April, 66 tankers sailed from Venezuelan ports, up from 61 vessels in March, when exports stood at 1.08 million bpd. The latest monthly figure marks Venezuela’s highest export level since late 2018, before US sanctions targeted its oil industry.The United States remained the largest direct destination for Venezuelan crude, importing about 445,000 bpd last month, up from 363,000 bpd in March. India also increased purchases, receiving 374,000 bpd compared with 342,000 bpd a month earlier, while exports to Europe rose to around 165,000 bpd from 144,000 bpd. In addition, 187,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude and fuel was shipped to Caribbean storage hubs for onward sales.Trading houses handled the largest share of exports in April, moving roughly 691,000 bpd, or 56% of total shipments. Chevron accounted for 308,000 bpd, representing 25% of exports and marking an increase from 267,000 bpd in March.India’s Reliance Industries took one major crude cargo directly from PDVSA and also purchased several additional shipments through trading companies, according to the data.The supply pact has helped Venezuela widen its customer base and diversify exports in recent months, easing some of the restrictions created by earlier sanctions, although the US treasury department continues to supervise Venezuela’s oil revenues through controlled accounts.Reliance’s imports from Venezuela are expected to expand further this month, with at least three supertankers chartered by the company currently lined up to load at Venezuelan ports, according to ship tracking data.Apart from crude, Venezuela exported 360,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals in April, slightly below March’s 382,000 metric tons. Meanwhile, naphtha imports fell to 141,000 bpd from 155,000 bpd in the previous month.
