Venezuela’s crude oil sales to the United States fell for the second month in a row in December, dropping average exports for the year to 59,304 barrels per day, the lowest annual level since 1991, Thomson Reuters reported.
A sharp drop in oil production in the South American country has hurt exports and domestic crude refining and exacerbated an economic recession that is now in its fifth year.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), which coordinates energy policies for industrialized countries, expects Venezuela’s oil output to continue falling this year to lose 500,000 bpd due to lack of investment, rising debt, sanctions and brain drain caused by poor salaries and a new inexperienced management in the oil industry.
According to the data, the United States received 419 shipments of Venezuelan crude oil last year compared with 530 shipments in 2016.
In 2016, the OPEC member country exported 718,365 barrels per day of oil to the states from oil production of 2.466 million barrels per day.
Venezuelan oil production in November, the latest available figure, was 1.837 million bpd, according to OPEC figures.
