On Friday June 2, Reuters reported that data from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA coupled with the comings and goings of oil tankers suggested that the beleaguered South American Republic’s oil exports had increased in June.
The Reuters article claimed that in June, Venezuela’s oil exports targeted the China market and that the crude was shipped to China disguised as Malaysian bitumen blends ahead of a June 12 Chinese tax.
PDVSA reportedly shipped an average of 631,900 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products in 23 cargoes in June, a 6.5% rise from May and a 66% increase versus the same month of 2020, The figures point to Venezuela’s seeming ability to ship increased volumes of oil abroad despite the fact that US attempts to block Venezuela’s oil exports remain in force under President Joe Biden,
PDVSA also exported 35,300 bpd of crude and fuel to its closest hemispheric political ally Cuba, an amount which fell below the May average of 67,000 bpd, according to the PDVSA data.
