(Bloomberg) – Venezuela’s output from its richest source of petroleum deposits is decreasing as U.S. forces in the Caribbean limit exports and the threat of land strikes further pressures Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Oil production in the Orinoco Belt fell to 498,131 barrels a day on Dec. 29, a 25% drop from two weeks earlier, according to internal data at state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela. PDVSA, as the company is known, has begun shutting oil wells in some fields because it’s running out of storage space and can’t export quickly enough.
The Orinoco Belt, which yields extra-heavy and heavy crude oil, has traditionally made up almost two-thirds of the country’s total production.
PDVSA, Venezuela’s oil ministry and its information ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
See also: U.S. blockade forces Venezuela to halt oil wells, slash production
Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has interfered with Venezuelan oil shipments by boarding and pursuing tankers trying to reach the country’s ports. The move is intended to inflict a major financial blow, since more than 95% of the country’s revenue depends on oil sales. The U.S. has accused Maduro of leading a foreign terrorist organization that enables drug trafficking, despite the Venezuelan president’s denials and the skepticism of experts on organized crime.
Trump said last week that the U.S. had conducted a land strike on a facility inside Venezuela, in what would be a significant escalation by Washington. Maduro has made no reference to the attack, which CNN reported was carried out by CIA drones on a dock along the Venezuelan coast.
On Wednesday, the U.S. added four crude oil tankers to its Venezuela-related sanctions list, along with four entities based in Hong Kong and mainland China. The move could be a signal to Beijing to steer clear of the stand-off between the Trump administration and the Maduro regime.
