The outage underscores the decay of domestic processing despite crude exports hitting a seven year peak of about 1.2 mb/d since January. Much of that crude flows to US Gulf Coast refiners while domestic plants struggle with a lack of feedstock and spare parts because the US controls oil sale proceeds. Analysts estimate the cost to restore Venezuela's refining infrastructure at $20B or more.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Venezuela's 310,000 bpd Cardon Refinery Restarts After Fire Shutdown
Commodities13 days ago
Personnel at the Cardón Oil Refinery began reviving the plant's crude distillation units on Wednesday after an explosion forced a full suspension of activities. The fire broke out Tuesday on a gas line connected to the refinery's diesel hydrotreater and was extinguished within an hour, leaving no injuries, according to state oil company PDVSA. The 310,000 bpd facility is Venezuela's second-largest refinery and a key component of the 955,000 bpd Paraguaná complex.
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