Crude oil prices are in focus as the United States carries out raids on Venezuela. Oil prices edged lower and are hovering around the $60/barrel mark. Venezuela has one of the highest oil reserves in the world, and this has led to concerns about how the attack could impact the price movement internationally.
The global crude prices are subdued at the moment as Venezuela’s oil exports have remained low due to US sanctions. Additionally, the refining of oil in Venezuela’s main facility was normal as per the latest reports on Saturday.
Effect of US attacks on Venezuela’s oil production
As per a Reuters report, Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA’s oil production and refining were normal on Saturday, and its most important facilities had suffered no damage from US attacks.
As per the report, the port of La Guaira near the capital, Caracas, one of the country’s largest but one which is not used for oil operations, has suffered severe damage.
In December, Trump announced a blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving the country, and the U.S. seized two cargoes of Venezuelan oil. The US measures prompted many vessel owners to divert away from Venezuelan waters, which has rapidly increased PDVSA’s inventories of crude and fuel, Reuters reported. PDVSA has been forced to slow down deliveries at ports and store oil on tankers to avoid crude output or refining cut-backs.
Venezuela’s oil production
Venezuela’s oil production reached historic lows in 2020, with annual production plummeting to 192 million barrels, according to data from the International Energy Agency and Trading Economics. The country’s oil production recovered to 5.5 lakh- 6.3 lakh barrels per day in 2021.
In the following years of 2022 and 2023, the Venezuelan oil production gradually increased to 217 million barrels and 264 million barrels, respectively, as stabilization through Iranian diluent swaps and US General License 44 eased sanctions.
The data shows that in 2024, Venezuela’s oil production reached 315 million barrels, about 8.5 lakh barrels per day. The production in the year was largely aided by Chevron’s expansion and the resumption of trade with India.
The IEA data shows that Venezuela’s oil production reached its recent peak in 2025 when the daily oil production reached 1.14 million barrels per day.
India’s oil imports from Venezuela
While China is the biggest importer of Venezuelan Oil, the recent political developments also need to be seen in the Indian perspective also. India’s oil imports have risen sharply in the past year.
India’s trade relations with Venezuela are largely oil imports dependent. India’s oil imports from Venezuela slipped to negligible levels in 2021 and 2022 due to the US sanctions. India’s total imports from Venezuela in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 came down to $89 million and $250 million, respectively.
However, India-Venezuela oil trade rebounded by 2023-24, with petroleum imports rising to nearly $1 billion. In December 2023, India briefly became the top buyer of Venezuelan Oil.
As per the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, India, and the United Nations COMTRADE Database, India’s average oil imports from Venezuela increased to roughly 63,000 – 100,000 barrels per day in 2024, a 500% increase from the previous year.
As per IEA, India remained the third-largest buyer (after China and the US) of Venezuelan oil in most of 2025; however, imports began to decline in the latter part of the year due to renewed geopolitical tensions and US sanctions.