AlwaysFree: PDVSA Cardon Refinery Fire Halted Gasoline Output

PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company, had a fire on the 310,000 barrel/day Cardon refinery in Monday, July 6. A quickly-controlled fire was hit the catalytic cracking unit with no injuries but stopped the unit around noon. The gasoline output was halted less in than a month after the restarting process with the help of imported equipment from Iran, Venezuela’s ally. This condition sparks concern about worsening fuel shortages that has loomed over the country for months.    

Catalytic cracking units are crucial for the production of finished fuel in most refineries. The Cardon refinery had been producing between 15,000 to 30,000 barrel/day of gasoline since restarting in mid-June, while other Venezuela’s refining network totalling in 1.3 million barrel/day is mostly offline. Several fuel shipments from Iran arrived in late May and early June, but the country has not imported gasoline since then. Efforts to restart the 146,000 bpd El Palito gasoline output refinery have not been successful.

Last week, U.S. prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize gasoline aboard four vessels from Iran, which trying to send fuel to Venezuela.

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