Venezuela’s second largest refinery has suspended gasoline production following an internal electrical failure, four sources with knowledge of the situation said on Sunday, September 11.
Work was being carried out in order to resume operations of the Cardon crude oil reformer and distiller.
A blackout took place on Saturday (September 10) in the afternoon at the facility, which has the capacity to process 310,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, and although power has returned to the facility, production at the refinery remains halted.
A source told reporters: “They have already fixed the fault, the light has returned, but everything is still stopped. The start-up process or protocol has begun, but you know that when they stop abruptly, it takes time (to resume operations).”
The Cardon refinery is part of the 955,000-bpd Paraguana Refining Centre on Venezuela’s Western coast.
Venezuela’s state company, PDVSA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An intermittent scarcity of fuel has hit the South American country in recent years as PDVSA’s ageing refineries operate at a fraction of their 1.3 million barrel per day (bpd) joint capacity, and as US sanctions block the arrival of imported gasoline.
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