The slippery slope for Venezuela's oil output gets steeper
A weeklong blackout and ever-tightening US sanctions have nudged Venezuela's already declining oil production into an even steeper dive, experts say.
Even before the massive, unprecedented power cut swept across the South American nation on March 7, Venezuela's outlook for its one vital export resource was grim, with the state-owned oil company PDVSA in default and under sanctions pressure.
From April 28, US companies and citizens will be barred from dealing in Venezuelan crude, effectively cutting PDVSA off from its biggest customer.
Oil expert Luis Oliveros said "not a barrel was shipped during the blackout," paralyzing the oil sector and marking "the start of a bigger cycle of deterioration."
Venezuela's crude output has slipped for years, and in February was calculated by secondary OPEC sources to amount to a million barrels a day -- 142,000 less than a month earlier and a fraction of the 3.2 million barrels pumped a decade ago.
Observers say the blackout's damage to the sector could trigger even more sharp cuts to production.
It could go as low as 500,000 barrels a day, according to Asdrubal Oliveros, an economist and director of the economic analysis firm Econometrica, citing a report by British financial services outfit Barclays.
Such a figure -- staggeringly low for a country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world -- would put Venezuela on par with minor OPEC member Ecuador, or non-member Romania.
PDVSA has not revealed the impact of the electricity cut on its operations. It said only that it managed to meet domestic demand for gasoline after long lines of cars formed at service stations.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/the-slippery-slope-for-venezuela-s-oil-output-gets-steeper/article/545376#ixzz5iFtCRkQs
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We travel to Punta de Mata in Western Monagas at least 3 times a week. So far, we've seen little evidence of gasoline shortages. I always top off the tank in El Tejero, and usually without a wait. Give the guy 5 bolivares and he smiles for the big cash tip he's getting. Today's black market dollar rate is about 3500 bs. You figure it out. 
