Venezuela Partially Makes Up For US Sanctions By Exporting To India, Europe - Reports

Venezuela has partially offset the loss of crude exports caused by US sanctions by redirecting part of the oil supply from the United States to India and Europe, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo and ship-tracking firms

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2019) Venezuela has partially offset the loss of crude exports caused by US sanctions by redirecting part of the oil supply from the United States to India and Europe, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo and ship-tracking firms.

In January, US National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that the United States was imposing sanctions against Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA and blocking $7 billion in the firm's assets.

Quevedo said, as quoted by the newspaper on Wednesday, that Washington's sanctions against PDVSA had led to a reduction in the supply of Venezuelan oil to the United States from 484,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January to 149,000 bpd in February. He noted that part of the oil intended for export to the United States was redirected to India.

In February, Venezuela's oil exports to India grew by 40,000 bpd, while supply to the United Kingdom increased by 11,000 bpd, according to the Kpler ship-tracking system.

At the same time, oil supply to PDVSA customers in Spain and Sweden were uninterrupted, the FleetMon ship tracker said.

Venezuela is currently in the midst of a tumultuous political crisis. It all started on January 5, when lawmaker Juan Guaido was elected as the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize since 2016.

On January 23, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington.

The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue.