Venezuela has set a target price of $40/barrel for its export basket of crude and products for 2016, Minister of Economy, Finance and Public Bank Rodolfo Marco Torres said Tuesday at a presentation of the national budget for next year.
The 2016 target price compares to the $60/b target the Venezuelan government put in place for the country's 2015 budget.
"Excess oil supply has resulted in the sustained fall in oil prices," Torres said. "Considering the trends in the international oil market, the 2016 budget has been estimated [at] an average export price of the Venezuelan oil basket [of] $40/b," Torres said.
Venezuela has seen its income from oil exports fall by 50% due to the sharp decline in global oil prices.
Torres did not disclose Venezuela's oil production forecast for 2016.
A Platts survey pegged Venezuela's September crude output at 2.34 million b/d.
Torres also said Caracas will meet its debt payment obligations of $2.3 billion in November.
