Venezuela's oil exports bounce to 800,000 bpd in January under US control -shipping data

By Marianna Parraga

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports bounced to some 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January under control of the U.S., from 498,000 bpd in December, following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro and the end of an oil blockade on the country, which allowed traders to carry most exports, shipping data showed.

The United States last month regained its position as main individual destination of Venezuela's crude with some 284,000 bpd exported there, of which 220,000 bpd were shipped by U.S major Chevron CVX.N, a large increase from the 99,000 bpd it sent the previous month.

Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura exported some 12 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuel oil under U.S. licenses, or about 392,000 bpd in January, mostly to storage terminals in the Caribbean, the data showed, from which they began exporting and marketing cargoes to customers in the U.S., Europe and India.