Sources say that the distillation and catalytic cracker units at Venezuela's Amuay Refinery have resumed operations.

Five sources said this week that a catalytic cracker, and two distillation machines, at Venezuela's Amuay Refinery, the largest in the country, had resumed operation following an interruption of power earlier this month.

Sources claim that a blackout occurred on September 12 which knocked the catalytic cracker of the refinery, which produces the finished fuel, offline. The distillation units were also halted.

Due to the chronic lack of investments, power outages are common in Venezuelan refineries. They can cause operations to be suspended, resulting in fuel shortages. Restarting processing units usually takes several days.

Amuay is a refinery that can process up to 645,000 barrels per day, but does not export its products. It forms the largest complex of state oil company PVDSA, with a combined capacity of 955,000 barrels per day.

The South American nation exported oil last month

Reached a four-year peak

The United States has not renewed a license that eases sanctions on oil exports from the country since 2019. This is due to political freedoms.

Nevertheless, individual licenses were issued to allow joint ventures between PDVSA and U.S. oil company Chevron as well as Spain's Repsol continue shipping Venezuelan crude oil abroad.

(source: Reuters)