Venezuela’s Cardón Refinery Blackout Reveals Deepening Oil Sector Crisis

Venezuela’s second-largest oil refinery, called Cardón, stopped working on June 23, 2025, because of a power failure. This refinery can handle up to 310,000 barrels of oil each day, but before the shutdown, it was processing only about 50,000 barrels daily.

The Cardón refinery is important because it turns heavy oil from Venezuela’s Orinoco region into products that the country uses and exports. Cardón is next to the Amuay refinery, which is even bigger, but only Cardón lost power.

The state oil company, PDVSA, tried to fix the problem by moving equipment from Amuay to Cardón. Still, the shutdown highlights bigger issues that have been building up for years.

Venezuela’s oil industry has suffered from a lack of investment, poor management, and strict U.S. sanctions. These sanctions make it hard for Venezuela to buy the parts and technology needed to keep refineries working well.

Because of this, many refineries run with old equipment and can break down more easily. Official data shows that Venezuela’s oil production was just over one million barrels per day in early 2025.

However, the country’s refineries, including Cardón and Amuay, are working far below their full capacity. Together, they could process almost one million barrels a day, but lately, they have managed only about 187,000 barrels per day.

Sanctions have also made it harder for Venezuela to sell its oil. In April 2025, Venezuela’s oil exports dropped by 20%, down to 700,000 barrels per day. The United States added new tariffs and stopped some companies from buying Venezuelan oil, which forced PDVSA to cancel some shipments.

Oil is extremely important for Venezuela’s economy, making up almost 87% of its export income. When refineries like Cardón stop working, the country faces fuel shortages and loses money.

This makes daily life harder for Venezuelans and weakens the economy even more. The shutdown at Cardón is not just about a power outage.

It shows the deeper problems in Venezuela’s oil industry—old equipment, not enough investment, and trouble selling oil because of sanctions. Unless these issues are fixed, Venezuela’s oil business will keep facing serious risks, and the country’s economy will stay unstable.

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