Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA is set to recover a portion of the oil output lost in recent months by boosting crude blending operations at its main producing region, the Orinoco Belt, according to Reuters. 

Due to US sanctions, the PDVSA has been unable to source diluents used to produce exportable crude grades. This has subsequently shut off its customer base and the number of tanker owners willing to work with the firm. 

PDVSA and its joint ventures produced just 336,000 barrels of crude per day (bbl/d) at the end of August. This was significantly down from 2019’s figures of 933,000 bbl/d. 

On September 13, PDVSA finished discharging a 500,000-barrel parcel of Iranian condensate. This condensate is to be used for diluting Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude.