Venezuela Oil Output at 407,000 bpd with No Active Rigs for Second Month
CARACAS – According to a December report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released on Monday, Venezuela has been doing without active oil rigs for the second month in a row, which may suggest the nation’s output might have been brought to a standstill.
The last active rig was recorded by OPEC in September while the state-run company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has been reducing accumulated inventories.
PDVSA had 122 active rigs in 2011, but the number went down to 49 in 2017 and to 25 during the first quarter of 2020.
However, OPEC also noted in its report that the South American nation produced an average of 407,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, an increase of 25,000 bpd amid a scenario of output cuts from the rest of the group of oil producers.
Output is still below the average recorded during the first quarter of this year which stood at 730,000 bpd, OPEC said. In particular, production dropped 18% from the second quarter of 2020 and 49% from the average recorded in 2019.
According to official government figures, output declined by 39,000 bpd to 434,000 bpd in November and, according to those same figures, production fell by 47.13% from the first quarter and the decline was of 57.16% compared with the official average of 2019.
Oil production in Venezuela, the country with the world’s largest reserves of crude, has sunk to levels not seen since 1945.
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