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(Bloomberg) — Venezuelans are bracing for severe cooking-gas shortages after a blast knocked out a plant serving almost half the country.
Propane production has plunged 97% since the Nov. 11 explosion at the Muscar gas complex in Monagas state, according to data seen by Bloomberg. Repairs are expected to take four months, imperiling supplies of the fuel most Venezuelans rely on for cooking and other household uses.
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Vice President Delcy Rodríguez blamed the event on extremists targeting “the heart of the country’s natural gas system.” At least 11 people have been detained as part of a what she called a plot to undermine Venezuela’s economy. The Muscar complex separates propane and other gas byproducts from crude oil, and ships those fuels to other hubs feeding industries nationwide.
People with knowledge of the repair efforts at the Petroleos de Venezuela SA facility said the fire was a result of years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance. The blast burned a key manifold and the heat caused secondary damage to chemical tanks, controllers and other systems, said the people who asked not to be named discussing non-public information.
A PDVSA spokesperson declined to comment.
Venezuela, once a global energy powerhouse that pumped more than 3 million barrels of oil daily from the world’s largest proven reserves, is now producing at 80-year lows. In recent years, Venezuela has had to turn to foreign allies in Iran and commercial partners such as Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni to help shore up the industry.
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The explosion will have a “significant impact on the internal fuel supply for cooking gas and other products,” said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American energy policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. The knock-on effects will include disruption to oil-upgrading and refining operations that require byproducts, he noted.
In the meantime, states such as Tachira, Barinas and Nueva Esparta are taking steps to cope with what are expected to be extended propane shortages. Those measures include rationing supplies and restricting some sales.
Gas shortages also are impacting industries from iron, aluminum ore and cement plants to the electricity grid.
Diesel Shortages
A separate fire on Nov. 10 at a petroleum-coke plant in the Jose Petrochemical Complex is hampering diesel production, said Rodríguez, who cited the same alleged plot. Hours-long lines of trucks and buses began forming at filling stations in cities like Caracas and Valencia in recent days.
On Venezuela’s Margarita Island, residents have had to contend with recurring blackouts lasting as long as 20 hours for more than two weeks. Two generating stations on the island ran out of diesel and gas.
A day before the Nov. 11 blast, Venezuelan natural gas production totaled 3.7 million cubic feet of gas per day. After the accident, output decreased 47% to according to data seen by Bloomberg. The government hasn’t published official data on the country’s gas production and supply.
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