Nicolás Maduro, who assumed the presidency of Venezuela for a third consecutive term following a disputed reelection, expressed hope that the country will reach a daily production of 1,500,000 barrels of oil using its own resources. During a televised event, Maduro mentioned that in January, the Venezuelan oil industry averaged 1,057,000 barrels per day and is on track to achieve the goal of 1,500,000 barrels daily thanks to internal efforts and available resources.
Regarding the gas industry, Maduro reported that it is recovering after a terrorist attack on the country's main gas distributor in November, located in the state of Monagas. Despite the difficulties, he assured that gas production for domestic consumption and export would significantly increase this year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported that Venezuela produced an average of 921,000 barrels per day of crude oil last year, representing a 17.6% increase compared to the previous year. In December, the country's oil production nearly reached one million barrels, closing the last quarter of 2024 with an average of 982,000 barrels daily, an increase of 5.2% compared to the previous quarter.
Despite the expectations, Venezuela's oil production is still far from the levels it used to have at the beginning of this century, before the sanctions imposed by the United States. Despite efforts to reactivate the industry with the participation of foreign companies, production has not managed to recover fully.
Former Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea, who is now detained and facing accusations of alleged collaboration with foreign intelligence services, had predicted that oil production would surpass one million barrels per day in 2024, a goal that has not yet been met.
