<article><p class="lead">Refinery repairs and the arrival of more Iranian gasoline have given Venezuela another breather from its chronic gasoline shortage.</p><p>State-owned PdV's 305,000 b/d Cardon refinery, the focus of its <a href="https://www2.argusmedia.com/en/news/2180789-pdv-gasoline-production-stalls-diesel-dwindles">repair efforts</a>, restarted gasoline and diesel production early yesterday after divers patched a ruptured crude supply pipeline that runs under Lake Maracaibo, according to three refinery officials. </p><p>Cardon currently is producing a combined 46,000 b/d of gasoline, including 22,000 b/d from its 86,000 b/d fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) and 24,000 b/d from its 54,000 b/d naphtha reformer. </p><p>Cardon's distillation unit 2 (CD-2) is processing just over 47,000 b/d of medium quality crude transported through the 143mi (230km) Ule pipeline that runs from mature fields on the east coast of the lake to the 940,000 b/d CRP refining complex on Paraguana. </p><p>The CRP complex, which PdV operates as an integrated facility, includes Cardon and the nearby 635,000 b/d Amuay refinery. </p><p>At Amuay, a single operational distillation unit integrated with a VGO unit is processing almost 65,300 b/d of medium quality crude.</p><p>Amuay's distillation unit 4 has been written off as a total loss after an October 2020 vapor blast inflicted catastrophic structural damage, according to a CRP manager. </p><p>The CRP is producing around 23,000 b/d of diesel overall. Together with 15,000 b/d of production at PdV's 190,000 b/d Puerto La Cruz refinery, the company is supplying up to 38,000 b/d of high-sulfur diesel.</p><p>Diesel supply has drawn extra scrutiny after the previous US administration banned crude-for-diesel swaps by non-US companies as part of its "maximum pressure" campaign against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The new US administration is considering <a href="https://www2.argusmedia.com/en/news/2179007-us-may-restore-venezuela-diesel-swaps-ease-waiver?backToResults=true&amp;selectedMarket=Crude%20oil">reversing the ban</a> as a humanitarian measure, potentially easing oil export bottlenecks and replenishing Venezuelan stocks of imported low-sulfur diesel.</p><p>The oil ministry estimates domestic gasoline demand at about 110,000 b/d. Diesel for transport and power generation, among other uses, is around 100,000 b/d. </p><p>The Maduro government has been rationing gasoline for more than a year as PdV struggles to repair and sustain a small part of its 1.3mn b/d refining system. Caracas blames US sanctions for the breakdowns. Critics point the finger at the government for years of neglect, corruption, labor flight and unsteady electricity supply.</p><p>Four PdV officials at the Jose and Guaraguao terminals in eastern Venezuela tell Argus that the Iran-flagged Faxon and Fortune arrived over the past week with over 400,000 bl of gasoline. </p><p>The tankers are among a handful that delivered gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela on two previous occasions last year, sparking an outcry from Washington. Caracas and Tehran are both targets of US sanctions.</p><p>In what has become a routine practice in Venezuela, the tankers have their transponders switched off.</p></article>
