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Venezuelan oil exports rebound in November on shipments to India -data

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run PDVSA and its joint ventures exported over 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel last month, rebounding from October due to larger sales to India, according to internal company reports and Refinitiv Eikon data.

The company sent a total of 37 cargoes containing 1.037 million bpd in November, a 25% increase from October, and the third highest monthly figure since the U.S. government in January imposed tough sanctions on PDVSA.

Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., known as PDVSA, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

India was again the first destination of Venezuela's oil exports following refiner Reliance Industries' decision in October to resume direct business with PDVSA. Other Asian countries including Singapore and Malaysia also imported Venezuelan barrels, according to the data.

More large vessels loading Venezuelan crude helped partially unclog bottlenecks caused by PDVSA's mounting inventories of unsold oil and insufficient vessels to carry exports. Nine very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and seven Suezmaxes transported oil from PDVSA's ports in November, the data revealed.

Exports to Europe declined to some 68,000 bpd last month from 89,000 bpd in October following the termination of a supply contract between PDVSA and European refiner Nynas AB in late October due to U.S. sanctions.

Direct shipments to China fell to just one 1.8-million-barrel cargo in November, but the Asian nation recently ramped up imports of crude blends made with Venezuelan oil by way of Malaysia's trans-shipment hubs.

Supply to Cuba declined to 67,000 bpd from 118,000 bpd in October and 143,000 bpd in September.

Russia's energy giant Rosneft took the bulk of PDVSA's oil sales with 36% of the monthly total, mostly bound for Asia. That was followed by Reliance with 13% and Spain's Repsol with 8%, the data showed.

Most sales of PDVSA's oil under sanctions are registered as payment of loans granted by Russian and Chinese entities to Venezuela in the last decade. Swaps of Venezuelan crude for foreign fuel also are allowed under the U.S. measures as long as no cash payment is received by the state-run company.

Venezuela's fuel imports declined in November to some 132,500 bpd. The country has bought an average of 175,000 bpd of fuel this year, including gasoline, diesel, gasoil, heavy naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas and refining feedstock.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City and Mircely Guanipa in Punto Fijo, Venezuela; Editing by Richard Chang)