Citi VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil S&P ETN (UWT)

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The oil sector is crucial for Venezuela’s economy as it accounts for most of the country’s revenues. US sanctions have already taken a toll on the country’s crude oil and fuel exports. February crude shipments sank 40 percent to 920,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to data from PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon.

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s oil minister and president of state-run oil company PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo, said that Caracas may divert oil originally bound for the US to Russia and China.

Quevedo is set to meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak next week. During the meeting, the ministers will discuss ways to increase Venezuelan oil exports to Russia among other issues, Novak told journalists on Friday.