Venezuela has only one working gasoline refinery as it struggles to repair two key plants, creating shortages that have forced drivers and truckers to queue for hours, even days, for fuel.
A gasoline-making unit at the Puerto La Cruz refinery, which accounts for just 14 percent of Venezuela’s gas refining capacity, is the only one left operating in the country after pump and compressor problems brought down the Cardon and Amuay refineries last week and repair attempts failed, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information is not public.
Despite containing the world’s largest oil reserves and one of South America’s largest refining facilities, Venezuela has struggled for years to meet domestic demand of 120,000 barrels a day, a situation exacerbated by US sanctions. Gasoline shortages are common, and the country regularly experiences capacity outages. Currently, capacity is down 86 percent.
On Wednesday, both affected refineries were processing crude but not producing fuel. Gasoline has only been widely available in Caracas, where the government ensures punctual supply for fear of protests. When the country faced such severe shortages in 2020, it deployed soldiers to protect gas stations.
Representatives for state oil company PDVSA and the refiners did not respond to requests for comment. PDVSA aims to start producing gasoline on Thursday, according to one of the people.
Since 2020, PDVSA has diverted gasoline from its eastern facilities in Puerto La Cruz to other parts of the country, although it is intended to fuel local demand. The combined capacity of the country’s five refineries is 1.28 million barrels per day.
