A Venezuelan operator at one of the facilities of the joint ventures between Chevron and PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned company. Photo: Chevron.
Guacamaya, March 12, 2025. Venezuela’s crude oil production remained stable in February at 1,025,000 barrels per day (bpd), with a slight decrease of 6,000 bpd, according to PDVSA’s estimates.
According to secondary sources cited by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), production increased by the same amount to 918,000 bpd. The figures often differ depending on whether imported diluents are subtracted from the final number.
A shutdown at the Petrolera Sinovensa plant was expected this month for maintenance, as announced by PDVSA President Héctor Obregón in November during his presentation to the Petroleum Chamber. The monthly report from the Venezuelan state-owned company shows a drop of 3,000 bpd.
According to Reuters, Venezuelan crude oil exports rose last month to 935,000 bpd, the highest level since November, which in turn was the highest since 2019, when the first Trump administration banned all transactions with PDVSA.
Crude production has maintained mostly stable growth since its lowest point in 2020, at less than 400,000 bpd. However, it is still far from the average of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day seen in previous decades.
Growth over the past two years has been supported by new mixed-enterprise models, primarily with the American company Chevron. The full impact of the end of General License 41, which allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela, remains to be seen, as does the fate of specific licenses for other foreign companies.
On Tuesday, Nicolás Maduro stated that production will continue to rise despite the tightening of sanctions. He mentioned that the Petrozamora operation in Lake Maracaibo will reach 100,000 bpd by December 2025. PDVSA’s figures indicate that the mixed enterprise in the western part of the country increased from 27,000 bpd in January 2023 to 57,000 bpd last month.
