Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, has said the country’s oil production remains unaffected despite the devastating earthquakes that struck the South American nation last month and claimed more than 4,500 lives.
Speaking on Monday, Rodriguez said Venezuela is producing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, an increase of about 10 per cent compared with a year ago. She also expressed confidence that the country’s economy would continue to record strong growth in 2026.
According to Rodriguez, Venezuela’s key oil-producing regions, Lake Maracaibo in the northwest and the Orinoco Belt in the east, were not impacted by the twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude that hit on June 24.
The worst destruction was recorded in the northern coastal state of La Guaira and the nearby capital, Caracas, which lie between the country’s two major oil-producing regions.
Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, has seen its oil industry recover after years of decline. Production fell from more than 3 million barrels per day in the early 2000s to about 350,000 barrels per day in 2020 following years of corruption and mismanagement.
Since taking office in January after the US-backed removal of former president Nicolas Maduro, Rodriguez has introduced reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment into the oil sector. The measures reverse more than two decades of extensive state control over the industry.
