Venezuela’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum reports that the average price of Venezuelan crude sold by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) during the week ending December 18 fell 6.6% to its lowest level since 2004.
CARACAS — The price Venezuela receives for its mix of heavy oil continued tumbling this week, hitting an 11 year low as oil prices around the world continued falling on slowing demand and oversupply in the wake of OPEC’s decision not to cut production. OPEC instead raised quotas to reflect current over-production levels.
According to figures released by the Venezuela Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, the average price of Venezuelan crude sold by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) during the week ending December 18 was $29.17, down $2.07 from the previous week’s $31.24.
WTI in New York averaged $35.95 — down $1.86 — for the week, while Brent crude traded in London averaged $37.71 — down $3.06 from the previous week.
According to Venezuelan government figures, the average price in 2015 for Venezuela’s mix of heavy and medium crude is now $45.23 for the year.
Venezuela’s average oil price for 2014 was $88.42, down from 2013’s $98.08, 2012’s $103.42 and 2011’s $101.06, but higher than 2010’s $72.43, and much higher than 2009’s average price of $57.01, which the current average is well below.
In 2014, WTI averaged $93.06 while Brent averaged $99.61.
So far this year, Venezuela’s oil basket hit its highest price of $57.00 during the week ending May 15. Venezuela set its 2015 low of $29.17 this week, its lowest recorded weekly price since February of 2004.
Historically, Venezuela’s basket set its highest weekly average ever on July 18, 2008, when it hit $126.46 before economies around the world began crashing under the weight of expensive oil and disastrous sub-prime debt. By Christmas of 2008, Venezuela’s oil basket had fallen to a daily low of $27.10 a barrel (those statistics go unreported by PDVSA during the lightly staffed Christmas holidays and are in LAHT’s database but not included in the Ministry’s database), making this week’s $29.17 the lowest weekly average since February 27, 2004.
The United States is the largest importer of Venezuela’s oil exports.
According to the US Department of Energy, Venezuela was the fourth-largest supplier of imported crude oil and petroleum products to the United States behind Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. U.S. imports from Venezuela have been on an overall decline in recent years. In 2014, the United States imported an average of 793,000 barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products from Venezuela, a decline of 49% from a decade ago.
Venezuela sends a large share of its oil exports to the United States because of the proximity and the operation of sophisticated U.S. Gulf Coast refineries specifically designed to handle heavy Venezuelan crude.
While U.S. imports of primarily crude oil from Venezuela have been on the decline, U.S. exports of petroleum products to Venezuela have increased largely because of Venezuela’s tight finances that leave it unable to invest and maintain its own domestic refineries. A decade ago, the United States exported 7,000 barrels per day to Venezuela. In 2013, the United States sent Venezuela 84,000 barrels per day of petroleum products, primarily methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), intended for blending in gasoline, motor gasoline, and distillate fuel oil.
Oil is the main export of Venezuela and provides most of the country’s foreign currency.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2013 net exports from Venezuela totaled nearly 1.7 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products, a significant decrease since the peak of 3.1 million barrels per day in 1997.
According to the Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ), in the beginning of 2014, Venezuela had nearly 298 billion barrels of proved oil reserves, the largest in the world. The next largest proved oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia with 266 billion barrels and Canada with 173 billion barrels.