Tankers Wait Up to a Month to Load Venezuelan Oil as Exports Hit a Ceiling Near 1.25 Million Barrels a Day

According to a Reuters report carried by Oilprice.com on Friday, 30 Mordad 1405 (August 21, 2026), even as buyers have returned to Venezuela's oil market, the country's aging port infrastructure is preventing a meaningful rise in exports, with some tankers waiting as long as 30 days to load. Old terminals, power outages and crude quality problems have created a de facto export ceiling of around 1.25 million barrels a day.

The report said state oil company PDVSA and its partners have been unable to push exports meaningfully above that level in recent months despite rising production, inventory drawdowns and strong demand. Venezuela holds one of the world's largest proven oil reserves, and its infrastructure constraints are slowing the pace of its return to the global oil market, a trend that matters for the global supply balance relevant to other exporters including Iran.