As the United States carried out attacks on Venezuela on Saturday, global oil markets are watching closely for any fallout, although early signals suggest disruptions have been limited so far.Venezuela has some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, raising concerns that military action could disrupt global price movements. However, crude oil markets remained subdued as the country’s oil exports were already restricted by US sanctions, limiting its role in global supply chains.According to Reuters, Venezuela’s state energy company PDVSA said oil production and refining were operating normally and that its key facilities suffered no damage from the U.S. attacks. Two sources familiar with PDVSA’s activities cited by Reuters said the country’s key oil infrastructure would not be affected.Reuters also reported that the port of La Guaira, near Caracas, was heavily damaged in the attacks, although the port is not used for oil exports.For India, the impact is expected to be minimal, according to India’s former ambassador to Venezuela. R. Viswanathan told ANI that India is not dependent on Venezuelan oil and trade between the two countries remains limited. He added that India is making some investments in Venezuelan oil fields through ONGC, but the developments are unlikely to have a significant impact on India.“It was not a surprise… This is not the first time he has threatened. When he was president for the first time, he had also threatened Venezuela then… This time he sent warships and authorized the CIA… No, it will not affect India,” he said. Explaining his stance further, he added: “We are not dependent on Venezuela for oil.” Our trade is very low and we have some investments from ONGC in their oil fields…So this will not have much impact on India.”US President Donald Trump said American forces had arrested President Nicolás Maduro after months of pressure over allegations of drug trafficking and illegitimacy in power. However, after the attacks, Trump announced that the US would become heavily involved in Venezuela’s oil industry. “We have the biggest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the biggest, and we’re going to be very heavily involved in that,” he told Fox News.Trump previously announced a blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela in December, a move that was already taking a toll on the country’s crude exports.The U.S. seizure of two Venezuelan oil cargoes and the tanker blockade reduced Venezuela’s exports last month to about half the 950,000 barrels a day it shipped in November, Reuters previously reported. The measures have also caused many shipowners to leave Venezuelan waters, forcing PDVSA to store crude oil on tankers and slowing deliveries at ports. Global data and analytics firm Kpler had said at the time that the market remained well supplied even within sanctioned segments, limiting the impact of further disruption on prices.Kpler estimates that Venezuela currently produces about 900,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day, about 1 percent of global supply. Of the roughly 765,000 barrels per day that Venezuela exports, about 76 percent is shipped to China, mostly to independent refineries, as state-owned companies have avoided sanctioned cargoes.
