After the sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela, the country strengthened trade relations with other nations to circumvent the blockades. Among them Russia, which served as a means to receive payments for oil revenues. Now the panorama has changed and both the US and Europe have sanctioned Moscow, which could mean inconveniences for Caracas.
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Venezuela has begun to recover its oil production, reaching 1,000,000 per day after being below 500,000. The price began to rise, going from 30 dollars to about 50 dollars and now standing at $112 as of Wednesday’s close, according to the Brent marker.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro assured that this increase, like that of gas that went to more than 80 percent, is the product of “sanctions and aggression coordinated by the US and its acolyte partners in the European Union against Russia.” .
Now, at $112 a barrel of oil, are there benefits for Venezuela?
The university professor and former deputy, José Guerra, explains how the disconnection of Russian banks from the Swift system It will create problems for the payments that Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) must make using those banks, and this not only because they are disconnected from the international transfer system that allows payments to suppliers, but also because the PDVSA offices in Europe have been in operation since 2019. Moscow. Before they were in Lisbon.
“It is likely that all these accounts are managed from Moscow with banks excluded from the system,” Guerra tells EL TIEMPO, who also emphasizes that another inconvenience could be the loss of the value of the ruble, which has been devalued by more than 50 percent. “If Venezuela’s deposits are in rubles and they are going to change them to dollars or euros, it will be a very important loss.”
Despite this panorama, Nicolás Maduro was confident this Wednesday in a speech, assuring that Venezuela supports Russia and will continue its commercial exchange with that nation.
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Your Oil Minister, Tarek El Aissami, He also expressed confidence after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Plus agreed to maintain stability in the crude oil market.
“We reaffirm the adjustment policy until October 31, 2022, with price stability and a guarantee of reliable supply to humanity,” the minister told the president on national television.
On the other hand, there is the fear of more sanctions for the Caribbean country. In statements to the Efe news agency, the economist Luis Oliveros said that Maduro’s support for Putin “could bring more sanctions against Venezuela“. He also explained that although the country sells its most expensive oil, it must be taken into account that it always does so with a 30 percent discount due to the complications involved in attracting sellers.
I welcome the agreements of the 26th OPEC and Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, which reaffirms the commitment to move towards a stable and balanced oil market. The way is and will always be the recovery of the global economy, united by the construction of a new post-pandemic era pic.twitter.com/oCrUrXmSVm
– Nicolas Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) March 2, 2022
According to Maduro, Russia is facing an “economic war”, the same one he has faced and therefore there will be stability in the oil market and continuity in ties with Vladimir Putin.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
with EFE
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