Venezuela's Oil Exports Fall to Their Lowest in Eight Months at 809,000 Barrels a Day, While Output Rises
Venezuela’s oil exports fell 25% in October 2026 to 809,000 barrels a day, their lowest level in eight months, according to Bloomberg Línea. That is what sits behind the headlines about a “record low”: what fell are shipments, not production. PDVSA says it is pumping 1.252 million barrels a day, the highest level in recent months according to its own post on X (El Nacional describes it as the highest since 2019), and OPEC itself logged 1.206 million in September. Data as of November 2, 2026.
What happened to exports
- How much: ships loaded 809,000 barrels a day in October, 25% less than in September, per Bloomberg Línea. Shipments were near the lowest levels since Nicolás Maduro left power.
- United States: U.S. demand fell 27% from the previous month. China has gone ten months in a row without buying Venezuelan crude.
- Why: higher freight rates, because fighting disrupted routes from the Middle East and Russia and sanctions shrank the fleet, and refinery maintenance in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Sending an Aframax to the U.S. Gulf Coast cost $13.85 a barrel in early October, per Argus Media, and then fell to $9.41, still high.
- PDVSA and prices: the state company resisted cutting its prices to offset freight, against competitors such as Canada.
The EIA confirms it from the U.S. side: imports of Venezuelan crude fell to 455,000 barrels a day in the week to October 9, the lowest since July, and rose to 571,000 in the week to October 16. The 2026 peak was 782,000 in the week of September 11, the highest since August 2017 (El Universal, citing preliminary EIA data).
Is Venezuela’s oil production falling?
No, according to the three sources available:
| Source | Figure | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PDVSA (operational) | 1,252,000 b/d | October 23-24 |
| Government to OPEC | 1,206,000 b/d | September |
| OPEC secondary sources | 1,150,000 b/d | September |
OPEC publishes two numbers for each country: the one the government reports and an independent estimate. September rose 5,000 b/d from August in the official figure and about 18,000 in the independent one (Rio Times). PDVSA says the third quarter closed up 8% (AVN), and attributed the 1.252 million to the recovery of fields in Zulia, where Petrozamora contributes 115,000 b/d (El Nacional). For the full picture: Venezuela’s oil production and its history, where the recent low was 636,000 b/d in 2021.
Why produce more and export less
The sources do not explain it directly. What they do say is that freight costs more, buying refineries are down for maintenance and PDVSA is not cutting prices. All of that applies to the month’s shipments and says nothing about what is pumped. Some crude may have stayed in storage or been refined at home, but no report confirms it.
What it means for Venezuela
Oil is the country’s main source of dollars (PDVSA explained): if less is exported, less money comes in even if prices rise (oil price today, in Spanish). Its main grade is Merey 16, sold at a wide discount to Brent. Sales run within the framework of U.S. licenses (Venezuela sanctions) and the January oil law (the hydrocarbons law). How much oil there is: Venezuela oil reserves.
What is not known
- OPEC’s October report, due in mid-November, with the official and independent figures for the month.
- Whether October’s drop is a blip or a trend: freight fell to $9.41 a barrel, but it is still high.
- Where the crude that is produced but not exported is: no source says.
- Whether PDVSA’s 1.252 million holds: it is the company’s own operational figure, without outside audit.
- October’s destinations beyond the U.S. and China.