Any sustained recovery in exports is unlikely without investment to increase production, write Efcharis Sgourou and Carlos Camacho
Venezuela has exported its first seaborne LPG cargo since March 2023, marking its tentative return to the market following interim president Delcy Rodriguez's announcement on 20 January that the country has signed a new LPG export contract. But Venezuela is unlikely to make a meaningful return to global LPG trade without significant investment and appears to be relying on supplies meant to serve its already deprived domestic market.
The midsize carrier Chrysopigi Lady arrived at the Jose Antonio terminal at Jose port to collect 21,700t on 29 January, and it is due to arrive at the US east coast port of Providence on 7 February, the latest data from trade analytics platform Kpler show. The terminal at Providence, operated by US firm Blackline Midstream, routinely imports smaller shipments during the winter to shore up stocks owing to a lack of pipeline connectivity in New England state. It received around 44,000t in 2025 and 31,000t in 2024. The next Venezuelan export will be on the Sylvie, which is due to load 19,200t at Jose for export on 6 February, Kpler data show. No destination is given but Japanese firm Itochu is tagged as the buyer.
The resumption of exports comes after the US administration captured president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January and pledged to revive Venezuela's oil industry. US sanctions and a lack of investment in ageing infrastructure have severely constrained its LPG sector, culminating in a substantive loss of exports since around 2018 and chronic domestic shortages. A lack of supply domestically has led the US to issue sanctions waivers since 2021, enabling US companies to ship LPG to Venezuela — although ship-tracking data show no trade in this direction.
The Jose Antonio terminal has shipped LPG domestically to other seaborne terminals in recent years, mainly on Handysize vessels and to a lesser degree on smaller pressurised vessels as of last year. Such deliverers stood at 717,000t last year, up from 518,000t in 2024, Kpler data show.
Venezuela is unlikely to be ready to resume significant and sustained exports of LPG. The country can manage a few spot shipments but the last meaningful exports from Venezuela were made more than 10 years ago, when production peaked, local industry experts say. Domestic LPG production reached a high of around 189,000 b/d (5.9mn t/yr) in 1999, when Hugo Chavez became president. This has now fallen to 50,000-80,000 b/d, industry data show — no government figures are available.
Venezuela may have prepared to restart LPG exports based on a long-held view that a protracted conflict with the US was imminent, a source at natural gas association AVPG says. To do so, the country appears to be redirecting what limited supplies it still produces away from the domestic market. The government has around 800,000 bl of LPG stored at Jose port, the AVPG source says. But "Venezuela does not produce enough LPG to cover its domestic market let alone sustain exports", they say.
LPG cylinder distribution for the residential market was nationalised 20 years ago under Chavez. Availability has since declined, and corruption is a problem. Families now receive around 8 kg/month of LPG compared with 18 kg/month, or two 10kg cylinders, in 2010-15, the AVPG source says. "Venezuelans are making do with less LPG — by cooking less or by using electric stoves or even firewood."
