US Envoy Claims Venezuelan Oil Production Drop Not Due to American Sanctions

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Venezuelan oil production has steadily declined in recent months by about 50,000 barrels per day, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said during a press briefing on Friday.

"There is certainly a steady drop in Venezuelan oil exports, partly that reflects the blackout, but even if you take the blackout out of it there is a very steady drop of maybe 50,000 barrels a month in production," Abrams told reporters.

Venezuela is currently producing about 1 million barrels a day, but the country's production levels are expected to drop below that level in about a month or two, Abrams said. However, he stressed that US sanctions had nothing to do with Venezuela's oil production dropping from 3 million barrels a day to 1 million.

Today, Special Representative Elliott Abrams provided an update on the situation in #Venezuela. #EstamosUnidosVE pic.twitter.com/FBPhSFOl3j

— Department of State (@StateDept) March 15, 2019

The United States has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuela. The US Treasury Department recently blocked $7 billion in assets belonging to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced the sanctions as an illegal attempt to seize Venezuela’s sovereign assets.

READ MORE: Treasury: US Targets Russian Bank in Venezuela Sanctions for Alleged PDVSA Links

The confrontation between the United States and Venezuela escalated this year, when on January 23, speaker of the opposition-led National Assembly Juan Guaido declared himself the country's acting president, gaining the immediate backing of the United States, as well as its allies around the world.

READ MORE: PDVSA's Subsidiary Seeking $1.2 Bln Loan Amid US Sanctions Against Venezuela

Russia China, Mexico, Turkey and several other countries continue to recognize President Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.