EIA: Country Analysis Brief: Venezuela - June 2018 - eng (pdf) ^{Избранное}

Venezuela, a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is an important participant in the global oil market. It ranked among the top 15 producers of oil and liquid fuels in 2017, but its output has fallen significantly since global crude oil prices fell from their peak in mid-2014. The production declines have been especially acute since mid-2016, with Venezuela’s crude oil output falling by 755,000 barrels per day (b/d) between June 2016 and May 2018.

In 2016, Venezuela consumed 74.6 million tons of oil equivalent, a 5% decline in total energy consumption compared with the previous year. [1] Natural gas and oil accounted for the largest share of the country’s total energy consumed (81% of total), with hydroelectric power meeting about 19% of total demand.

Although Venezuela’s oil output has been steadily declining since it peaked in the late 1990s, Venezuela has been among the top exporters of crude oil to the United States. However as Venezuela’s crude oil production decreased, so did U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude oil. As of the first quarter of 2018, EIA data show that U.S. imports from Venezuela reached their lowest levels since January 1993.

The Venezuelan economy relies heavily on crude oil, and the decrease in oil revenues in recent years has resulted in a severely challenging financial situation. Venezuela’s crude oil revenues have fallen significantly, falling to $22 billion in 2016, according to EIA’s estimates of Venezuela’s net oil export revenues. In 2011, Venezuela’s net oil export revenues were more than $73 billion (in 2016 dollars). Venezuela’s economy contracted by nearly 9% in 2017, based on estimates from Oxford Economics. The economic situation is increasingly precarious, and directly affects the energy sector.