Venezuela's Oil Exports Surge Past 1 Million Bpd

Venezuela's oil exports surpassed 1 million barrels per day in March for the first time since September, according to ship-tracking data. The country's monthly sales rose due to increased shipments to refiners in India and trading houses handling sales to the Caribbean for storage.

The agreement between Caracas and Washington in January to supply Venezuelan crude and fuel to the U.S. and other destinations under U.S. oversight has allowed trading houses Vitol and Trafigura to handle most of the sales, along with Chevron's increased exports.

In March, a total of 60 vessels departed from Venezuela carrying 1.09 million bpd of crude and fuel, and some 360,000 metric tons of petrochemicals and oil byproducts.