Cardon Refinery News

Pressured by strict U.S. sanctions, Venezuela's oil exports plunged by 376,500 barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, financially squeezing socialist President Nicolas Maduro.The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump also put curbs on PDVSA's main trading partners, the owners of tankers still transporting Venezuelan oil and on fuel supply to the gasoline-thirsty nation.The punishment, aimed to oust Maduro after his 2018 re-election was called a sham by most Western nations…

Two Iranian tankers that delivered fuel to Venezuela as part of a five-vessel flotilla have begun to sail back, according to Refinitiv Eikon, as the government of the South American nation prepares stations to begin charging for the gasoline.The supply is meant to ease fuel shortages that have plagued the country. After three months of fuel rationing, Venezuelans began lining up on Saturday to wait for the Iranian gasoline to be sold at stations from Monday under a new system combining subsidies and internationally-indexed prices.The model will put an end to over two decades of Venezuelans filling up their tanks for next to nothing.The two first Iranian tankers that discharged fuel last week departed over the weekend from state-run PDVSA's ports.

An Iranian news agency close to the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday there would be repercussions if the United States acted “just like pirates” against an Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela.A senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration told Reuters on Thursday the United States was considering measures it could take in response to Iran’s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela.The oil sectors of Iran and Venezuela, members of OPEC, are both under U.S. sanctions. The Trump administration official declined to specify the measures being weighed but said options would be presented to Trump.“If the United States…

Three vessels suspected of smuggling subsidized fuel from Venezuela's refinery-rich Paraguana peninsula were detained this week by the country's navy, a local commander said on Saturday. Sources told Reuters on Monday that seven people had been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle diesel in a tanker owned by state oil company PDVSA. Admiral Andres Gomez, commander of a local navy unit, confirmed tanker 'Negra Hipolita' was found with an excess load of 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel at the Cardon refinery. Two additional vessels, both from Panama, were detained this week by the Venezuelan navy, also on smuggling suspicions, Gomez added. It was not immediately clear when they were apprehended. PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said its 310,000 barrel-per-day Cardon refinery was hit by an electrical fault during a weekend storm, resulting in the halting of some units. A storm on the Paraguana peninsula knocked out electricity late on Saturday, the company said in a statement. "Operating personnel took immediate control of the installations and proceeded to halt the affected units as a preventative measure," it said. A PDVSA spokesman on Monday could not say what units were affected or whether they had been restarted. The nearby 645,000 barrel-per-day Amuay refinery is being restarted after a blackout had shut it down Tuesday night. PDVSA said it still had enough fuel inventories to cover domestic and international demand.   By Andrew Cawthorne