Venezuela in complete blackout, power will return soon

Venezuela’s total plume is set to begin to diminish soon, the country’s government has said.

Venezuela’s embattled government has accused the opposition of sabotaging the country’s entire power grid, which has cut off its largest oil terminal. No evidence was presented to indicate that an act of sabotage by the opposition was responsible.

Although power has not yet begun to be restored, the restoration should begin soon, Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television.

Loading and unloading of ships was disrupted by the power outage at Jose, the country’s largest oil terminal, shipping documents seen by Reuters showed. Jose is responsible for 70% of the country’s oil exports, which go mainly to China, Russia, ENI and Repsol.

Power outages also disrupted operations at the El Palito oil refinery and the state oil company’s headquarters in Caracas.

Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolas Maduro, managed to hold a tenuous grip on the country after elections in July, winning what most believe to be a rigged election against the opposition. The election results, the details of which have not yet been made public, have thrown the country into a whole new level of disarray, with the current regime arresting members of the opposition.

The panels come just two days after news broke that Nicolas Maduro would make changes to the top management of PDVSA and the oil ministry.

Venezuela is one of the five original oil producing countries that created OPEC and is home to the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Since then, the country’s oil industry has suffered under the weight of mismanagement, lack of investment, corruption, political instability and US sanctions, reducing it to one of OPEC’s smallest producers.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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