Venezuela extracted 1,392,000 barrels of oil per day in May, 2.9% less than in April when it pumped 1,434,000 barrels per day, according to data published by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in its monthly report on the market.
The figure, cited by OPEC and coming from several independent specialized institutes, shows the pronounced downward trend of Venezuelan production. However, according to official data provided by the government of Nicolás Maduro, the production in May went up: it went from 1,505,000 barrels per day to 1,533,000 barrels; that is, 28,000 more than those reported in April.
In any case, the oil organization points to Venezuela, Libya and Nigeria as the group's partners that saw their production reduce the most last month. In its report, OPEC mentions Venezuela among the factors that have contributed to the rise in prices: "The market has been propped up throughout the month (May) due to fears of a potential interruption in the flow of oil due to the escalation of geopolitical tensions, the worry about more falls in the production of Venezuela and the optimism about the decrease of the inventories in the United States ".
