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News > Venezuela

Venezuela Triples Its November Oil Exports Despite Sanctions

  • Photo  showing the offices of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) in Caracas, Venezuela.

    Photo showing the offices of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) in Caracas, Venezuela. | Photo: EFE

Published 3 December 2020
Opinion

Venezuela increased its oil exports, mostly to China, even as the U.S. continues to tighten sanctions against it, a report says.

Venezuela's "oil exports increased to more than half a million barrels per day in November," three times more than in previous months, the U.S. portal Bloomberg reported in a release Tuesday. Shipment reports and ship monitoring data compiled by Bloomberg reveal that almost all of the shipments went to China.

RELATED:

Venezuela Resumes Sending Oil to China Despite U.S. Sanctions

Meanwhile, the country's crude oil production remained at 484,000 barrels per day as of November 25, representing a 48% year-on-year drop. "But it shows that the country, despite sanctions and paralyzed operations, can still produce more oil than Ecuador," the report says.

The U.S. media points out that, while the primary buyers of oil from Venezuela have stopped buying from it due to U.S. sanctions, a series of little known companies have intensified their purchases, defying the U.S. country.

Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the issue, says the ships used various tactics to transport oil from Venezuela to China, including turning off their satellite signaling devices and painting their names to hide their identity and avoid detection.

This report comes after Washington announced sanctions this week against the state-owned China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) for its support of the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro. 

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, in a statement, called these U.S. sanctions "illegal" and said they showed the United States' "incessant obsession" with "destabilizing Venezuelan society. 

In turn, China called upon the U.S. to "rectify its mistake" of having politicized the Beijing-Caracas cooperation.  The imposition of the aforementioned U.S. sanctions is part of the U.S. Administration's attempts, headed by Donald Trump, to overthrow President Maduro.

The Beijing government has repeatedly denounced the coup plans promoted by Washington against the Caribbean nation and has expressed its support for Venezuela, given foreign interference in its affairs.

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