Venezuelan oil exports — measure by ship loadings — fell to a 17-month low in December amid a US naval blockade designed to bring the illicit oil trade to a halt.
A closer look reveals the situation is far worse. While ships loaded 423,000 barrels a day, more than half of that volume never left Venezuelan waters, amid threats of seizure by US forces, according to shipping reports, data from Kpler and vessel movements tracked by Bloomberg.
It’s unclear when they will be able to depart for their final destination in China, as the US said the naval blockade remains ...