Caracas/The US chargé d’affaires, John Barrett, said this Monday that Venezuela’s oil exports have reached 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd), their “highest level in seven years” and assured that this increase is the result of the plan that the Donald Trump Administration is implementing, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
“Venezuela’s oil exports have reached 1.25 million bpd, the highest level in seven years and is the result of the three-phase plan of Secretary (Marco) Rubio and President Trump,” Barret said in the embassy account on X.
On average, Venezuela’s oil exports closed 2025 between 800,000 and 900,000 bpd, according to estimates.
The US chief diplomat added that the “continued collaboration between interim authorities and private investors” is driving “economic recovery and greater prosperity for both the American and Venezuelan people.”
“Venezuela’s oil exports have reached 1.25 million bpd, the highest level in seven years”
The three-phase plan that Barrett speaks of is the one established by the United States for Venezuela, after capturing Maduro on January 3, and which consists of a first stage of stabilization, another of recovery and finally the democratic transition.
According to official figures collected in the report published in May by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela’s crude oil production had increased by 22.9% from January to April.
OPEC said that in April Venezuela produced an average of 1,136,000 bpd, while in March it was 1,095,000 bpd.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao said at the end of May that oil production was at 1,200,000 bpd.
Since Maduro’s arrest and amid Washington’s marked interest in Venezuelan oil, the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has promoted a set of reforms, especially in the area of hydrocarbons to allow foreign investment.
Venezuela is projected to obtain more than $22 billion in revenue from oil exports in 2026, exceeding last year’s revenue by more than 50%.
Venezuela has the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, about 303 billion barrels, equivalent to 17% of the global total.
Most of it is found in the Orinoco Belt, in the form of extra-heavy crude oil that requires advanced technology and large investments to be exploited.
According to an economic projection by the United Nations (UN) on Venezuela, published at the end of April, it is projected that the South American country will obtain more than 22,000 million dollars in income from oil exports in 2026, exceeding by more than 50% the 14,713 million dollars received last year.
