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To Ensure Immunization in Venezuela, Maduro Wants to Exchange Oil for Covid-19 Vaccines

Written by Valdemar Medeiros
Published on 29/03/2021 at 12:06
Petroleo - Maduro - vacinas - Covid
Vacina de combate ao Covid-19 – Fonte: Pixabay
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Plans to Exchange Oil for 2.4 Million Doses of Vaccines in Fight Against Covid-19

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated that Venezuela is open to exchanging part of its oil production for vaccines against Covid-19. Maduro’s remarks come at a time when there is a surge in Covid-19 infections and the Venezuelan government faces difficulties in accessing frozen financial resources abroad.

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During his weekly assessment of the fight against Covid-19, Maduro said, “Venezuela has the oil and has clients to buy oil and would dedicate part of its production to ensure all the vaccines it needs.” “Oil for vaccines, we are ready,” Maduro insisted, although he did not explain his plan in detail, which he claimed to have approved on the same day.

According to the President of Venezuela, through this oil exchange mechanism, the country would gain access to 2.4 million doses of the vaccine, equivalent to 20% of Venezuela’s needs.

Maduro Does Not Authorize Doses of the OPAS Vaccine

The Pan American Health Organization (OPAS) announced that it had allocated doses of the vaccine from pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to the country, which Maduro’s government did not authorize due to concerns about side effects.

Venezuela has recorded about 156,000 cases and more than 1,500 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 2,777,761 deaths worldwide, resulting from more than 126.6 million infection cases, according to a tally by the French agency AFP.

The Difficulty of Oil Production in Venezuela

The Venezuelan oil industry, which was once important in the international market, is facing difficulties and its extraction operations have significantly declined.

The country produced just over 500,000 barrels in February, a slight increase compared to previous months, but still far from the nearly three million barrels per day in the early 2000s, according to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Maduro stated that this decline is due to U.S. sanctions against the Venezuelan oil industry, but experts and the opposition claim that corruption and mismanagement are the true causes of the production drop.

Tarek El Aissami, the Venezuelan Oil Minister, stated in February that he expects “to reach a production of 1,508,000 barrels of oil per day” by the end of this year, but local experts have declared that this goal will be impossible to achieve.

Valdemar Medeiros

Formado em Jornalismo e Marketing, é autor de mais de 20 mil artigos que já alcançaram milhões de leitores no Brasil e no exterior. Já escreveu para marcas e veículos como 99, Natura, O Boticário, CPG – Click Petróleo e Gás, Agência Raccon e outros. Especialista em Indústria Automotiva, Tecnologia, Carreiras (empregabilidade e cursos), Economia e outros temas. Contato e sugestões de pauta: valdemarmedeiros4@gmail.com. Não aceitamos currículos!

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