Venezuela’s January oil exports fell 25% amid outages at terminal

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s exports of crude and refined products fell by 25% in January to some 624,000 barrels per day (bpd) as power outages hit the main oil export terminal, according to vessel tracking data and internal documents from state oil firm PDVSA.

The U.S. this week said it would reimpose energy sanctions in April if President Nicolas Maduro’s administration does not stick to a deal to accept conditions for a fair presidential election. Analysts said this would hurt the country’s ability to collect cash from its crude exports.

The OPEC-member country’s oil exports increased almost 12% last year despite operational mishaps, boosted by Washington’s move to ease sanctions amid negotiations with Maduro. Venezuela used the easing to resume sales to its former top markets: the United States, Europe and India.

But loading delays linked to power outages and crude quality issues impacted exports again last month, the documents showed.