Venezuela's oil output down by 11,900 bpd

Domestic oil production dropped again in May, this time by 11,900 bpd, even though the upgrader of joint venture Petrocedeño (formerly Sincor) resumed operations following a planned downtime. As reported by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its weekly bulletin on the oil and gas market, Venezuela's output last month averaged 2.34 million bpd, compared with 2.4 million in January. These numbers show that so far this year, oil production has dropped gradually yet steadily to lose around 63,000 bpd. According to OPEC, the highest peak after the nationwide strike was recorded in 2005, that is, 2.63 million bpd on average. Since then, except for the effect of seasonal variations, production has been falling down slowly and constantly. OPEC reported also 78 active drills in May, four drills fewer than in April.