Pdvsa fails to ship fuel to the US

Venezuelan state-owned oil holding Pdvsa has not exported gasoline to the United States since last September partly because of the lingering problems hitting the firm's refining operations, oil operators and shipping agents told Reuters.

In September-October power troubles and scheduled plant shutdowns in three of the four refineries comprising the domestic circuit have resulted in a significant production drop.

Rafael Ramírez, Minister of Energy and Petroleum and CEO of Pdvsa, has stressed, however, that exports to the US have been within normal limits. Last week, he informed that the Venezuelan domestic refining circuit was fully operational, following as the Amuay distillation unit five resumed operations following a fire and Puerto La Cruz refinery was brought back in line following a scheduled shutdown.

Amuay, Cardón, Puerto La Cruz and El Palito refineries overall process up to 1.2 million bpd.