- Maduro warns of US oil-driven military threats as Venezuela’s PDVSA turns to cryptocurrencies to keep revenue flowing under sanctions.
CARACAS, (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s oil production remains on a stable trend, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as the country faces continued US sanctions and heightened pressure amid a recent US military buildup in the southern Caribbean Sea.
The latest OPEC monthly report shows Venezuela’s August crude production at 936,000 bpd, a modest rise from 924,000 bpd in July, as measured by secondary sources.
By contrast, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA reported an output of 1.098 million bpd for last month, up 14,000 bpd from July. This number includes natural gas liquids and condensates, which raise the total production figure.
Venezuela’s oil exports likewise continue an upward trajectory, reaching 966,458 bpd in August, the highest level since November 2024 and marking a nine-month increase.
Since 2017, the US Treasury Department has imposed financial sanctions, an export embargo, secondary sanctions and a bevy of other measures on PDVSA.
Early this year, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked licenses issued in late 2022 that allowed PDVSA partners, including oil giant Chevron, limited production and exports in Venezuela joint ventures.
The White House later reversed its earlier decision and issued a new license, permitting Chevron to once again resume limited operations in Venezuela. Last month, roughly 60,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude were delivered to the US and about 29,000 bpd to Cuba.
Shipments destined for China made up roughly 85 per cent of last month’s PDVSA sales, reflecting Caracas’s ongoing shift of oil trade and investment toward China in recent years. Last week, China Concord Resources Corp. (CCRC) installed its first self-elevating offshore platform to operate two oilfields in Maracaibo Lake, located in western Zulia state.
Although crude output and exports have been steady recently, US sanctions still restrict the Caribbean country’s main foreign revenue source as the oil industry remains far from returning to its pre-sanctions production level of roughly 3 million bpd.
The latest OFAC license for Chevron reportedly blocks payments to the Venezuelan state, further reducing the amount of US dollars available for exchange.
As a result, PDVSA has been gradually expanding its use of digital currency and shifting oil sales to Tether (USDT), a dollar-linked stablecoin, according to reports. USDT has emerged as a temporary lifeline for various sectors of the Venezuelan economy, including private businesses and domestic production.
Businesses reportedly buy cryptocurrencies, mainly USDT, from a number of authorized banks and then sell the crypto or use it for domestic and international transactions. In turn, an estimated US $119 million in cryptocurrencies were sold by the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) to the private sector in July, as registered by local analyst firm Ecoanalitica.
Caracas has not officially confirmed that it is expanding the use of cryptocurrencies in its oil dealings and exchange market.
With estimated oil reserves of 303 billion barrels, Venezuela’s hydrocarbon wealth remains a key element of US foreign policy objectives, particularly in terms of deterring China’s increasing oil businesses in the Caribbean nation.
Some analysts have suggested that the recent US naval deployment in the Caribbean is aimed at putting pressure on Caracas and in order to gain the upper hand in oil-related negotiations rather than signalling imminent military action, which could destabilize global energy markets.
On Tuesday, president Nicolás Maduro accused the US government of “peddling lies” about the deployment of its military for anti-narcotics operations off the coast of Venezuela in order to justify regime change and seize the country’s oil and gas resources.
“They [the US] are after oil. It isn’t about drug trafficking; it’s about oil,” Maduro said during an interview with former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa.
In his weekly broadcast, president Maduro once again condemned Washington’s “unjustified and unacceptable escalation of war,” arguing that the ultimate goal is to overthrow his government and install a regime “enslaved to US interests.”
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