Exports by state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) lost ground in 2010, according to the preliminary results shown in Pdvsa's 2010 Annual Report and Accounts submitted to the National Assembly.

The document presented in the National Assembly claimed that Pdvsa exported 2.41 million barrels per day of crude oil and byproducts.

According to Pdvsa's figures, 1.93 million barrels were crude and upgraded oil while the remaining 485,000 barrels were oil byproducts.

The results showed that Venezuela's oil exports fell 11.6 percent compared to 2009, when Pdvsa's exports totaled 2.73 million barrels per day (2.05 million barrels of crude and upgraded oil and 677,000 barrels of refined products.)

Pdvsa was hit in 2010 by technical failures, and problems with refineries and oil export terminals that affected oil production, which declined 4 percent, .

The report also stressed that the evolution of oil prices resulted in a USD 70.05 average price of oil during 2010, a 28 percent increase in the value of the Venezuelan oil basket of crude oil and byproducts compared to 2009, when the average price of oil stood at USD 57.05 per barrel.

The Asian market was the biggest winner in Pdvsa's customer base, as shipments to Asia rose even though overall exports declined. Rapprochement with China led to increased exports to the Asian superpower.
etovar@eluniversal.com

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas