Geopolitical Tensions Impact Crude Oil Prices

A Reuters survey estimates that Venezuela’s crude oil production fell by 20,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 1,950,000 bpd in September 2017—compared to the previous month. Reuters estimates that production is near a 30-year low. President Trump imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, and the Venezuelan government in August 2017. Electricity outages and the economic crisis led to the fall in Venezuela’s crude oil production. US crude oil imports from Venezuelan hit a 14-year low in September 2017. Citgo, Valero (VLO), Phillips 66 (PSX), are Chevron (CVX) are major importers of Venezuelan crude oil. More….