(Reuters, 27.Jun.2018) – Venezuela’s 645,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery has halted its catalytic cracking unit and its distillation unit No. 5, a refinery worker and a union leader said on Wednesday, while state oil company PDVSA said the units were operational.
The cat cracker was halted on Saturday while the distillation unit was taken off line on Tuesday, said union leader Ivan Freites.
“There’s not enough steam to keep that plant in operation,” he said about the distillation unit.
“The cracking and distillation units are operational,” PDVSA said in a response to a message sent by Reuters.
A refinery worker, who asked not to be identified, said problems with steam compression and electricity generation had forced the cat cracker offline, adding that one of the two distillation units in service may soon suffer the same problems.
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