Venezuela’s Oil Output Unharmed by Deadly Earthquakes- Delcy Rodriguez
Delcy Rodriguez says crude production remains steady at 1.2 million barrels per day despite last month’s devastating earthquakes that claimed over 4,500 lives…..
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, has said the country’s oil industry continued normal operations despite the devastating earthquakes that struck the nation last month, insisting that crude production has remained stable.
Speaking on Monday, Rodriguez disclosed that Venezuela is currently producing about 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, representing an increase of roughly 10 per cent compared with the same period last year.
She said the twin earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude and claimed more than 4,500 lives on June 24, did not disrupt the country’s oil production.
According to Rodriguez, the government remains optimistic about the industry’s performance and expects strong economic growth for the rest of the year.
Venezuela’s oil sector, the backbone of the country’s economy and its largest source of revenue, is concentrated in two major producing regions — Lake Maracaibo in the northwest and the Orinoco Belt in the east.
The earthquakes primarily affected the northern coastal state of La Guaira and the capital, Caracas, both of which lie between the country’s main oil-producing zones, helping to spare critical energy infrastructure from significant damage.
Once producing more than 3 million barrels of crude per day in the early 2000s, Venezuela’s oil output collapsed over the following two decades, dropping to about 350,000 barrels per day in 2020 amid years of corruption, underinvestment and operational challenges.
Since assuming office in January following the United States-backed removal of socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, Rodriguez, who previously served as oil minister, has introduced sweeping reforms aimed at reviving the struggling energy sector.
The reforms are designed to attract greater foreign investment and mark a significant shift away from the extensive state control that had dominated Venezuela’s oil industry for more than two decades.
