Venezuela kept crude exports near 1.17 million barrels per day in August

Venezuela kept its crude exports close to 1.17 million barrels per day in August, even as shipments to the United States fell sharply. Increased deliveries to India and Europe compensated for the decline, according to documents and ship-tracking data reviewed Tuesday.

Exports to the United States averaged 553,000 barrels per day, down from a July record of 786,000. The United States nevertheless remained the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude. India’s purchases rose 66% from July to 297,000 barrels per day, while the European market almost tripled its intake to about 260,000 barrels per day.

Petróleos de Venezuela, or Pdvsa, faced operational problems during the month. The condition of its terminals and issues with crude quality increased waiting times for shipments. One document said a power outage at the end of July disrupted the company’s upgrading plants and blending stations.

Vitol and Trafigura, major oil traders, kept their export volume broadly stable at about 597,000 barrels per day, compared with 604,000 in July. Chevron’s shipments edged down to 286,000 barrels per day from 293,000.

The movement of dozens of oil projects to a new contractual model is expected to alter Venezuela’s export process in the coming weeks. Shipments to the United States are also projected to rise after a recent agreement involving Caracas, Washington and North American Blue Energy Partners, or Nabep, owned by businessman Alejandro Betancourt.

Chevron is negotiating to operate two oil fields in the Orinoco Belt as part of the Trump administration’s plans to increase Venezuelan crude production. The White House has disclosed details of an agreement granting Nabep 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields. The U.S. State Department said the arrangement would secure purchases at cost of 20% of production, while retaining priority commercial offers on the remaining 80%.