Venezuela’s Cardón Refinery Suspended After Fire and Explosions @2026-10-06 21:16:58 - Calle 15 de Febrero

On October 6, 2026, Venezuela’s Cardón refinery—the country’s second-largest oil refining facility—was fully halted following a fire that began in a gas line connected to its diesel hydrotreater (also referred to as the gasoil unit). The incident occurred around 3:20–3:25 p.m. local time at the plant in Punto Fijo, Falcón state. Sources described explosions, a rapid spread of flames, and the immediate shutdown of the entire facility, including its boilers. Personnel were evacuated as a precaution. The fire was brought under control and extinguished in less than one hour. No injuries have been reported. State oil company PDVSA has not issued an official statement, damage assessment, or restart timeline. Cardón has a nameplate processing capacity of approximately 310,000 barrels of oil per day. It forms part of the larger Paraguaná Refining Center (together with the neighboring Amuay refinery), which has a combined capacity of about 955,000 barrels per day. Videos circulated on social media showed large columns of flames and smoke rising from the site; later images shared by local residents depicted firefighters at the facility with the blaze extinguished. Independent verification of the video content was not immediately available, though multiple operational sources and neighbors confirmed the presence of fire and smoke. Fires, equipment failures, and outages have been recurrent at PDVSA-operated facilities and can affect domestic supplies of gasoline, diesel, and other fuels. Sources: Reuters (multiple operational sources); corroborating local and international reports dated October 6–7, 2026.