Venezuelan oil exports 'fell 6.5% from a month ago to'some 737,000 barges per day' as more shipments into the 'United States' and 'Europe' 'couldn't fully offset the 'loss' of what used to be OPEC's main market - China', according to documents and vessel monitoring data from the state company PDVSA.

Since early January, the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro. The lion's portion of Venezuelan oil is now exported by the trading houses?Trafigura, Vitol, and U.S. producers Chevron.

Chevron, traders and other oil companies sent more cargoes last month to the U.S. and Europe, as well as the Caribbean, but the increase wasn't enough to offset a 67% drop in exports to Asia.

The lack of large crude carriers capable of transporting larger cargoes has also restricted exports. Venezuela's main oil terminal, the Jose Terminal, handles around 70% of all shipments. This creates a need for bigger vessels to reduce loading times.

Oil exports were 19% below what they would have been in 2025 if the same month had occurred in February. According to data, the trading houses have exported 26.9 million barrels of the 40 million barrels they've sold under U.S. supervision since last month.

Venezuelan direct exports to the U.S. increased by 32%, to 375,000 barrels per day. Shipments to Europe grew ninefold, to 158,000 barrels per day. Chevron also sold its first cargo in three years of heavy Venezuelan?crude oil to India's Reliance Industries refinery.

The data revealed that exports to India will increase in March due to the arrival of at least half a dozen supertankers to Venezuela. Reporting by Marianna Pararaga, Editing by Brendan O'Boyle & Bill Berkrot

(source: Reuters)