CARACAS - A failure at a reformer in Venezuela's Cardon refinery, a key unit for making gasoline, means the unit will be out of service for about 25 days, four workers at the facility said on Tuesday.
The unit, with a capacity to process 45 000 barrels per day (bpd), has operated intermittently over the past year.
The reformer stopped operating Monday night, one of the people familiar with the operation said. Its Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit remained operational.
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment on production at the refinery, the country's second largest after Amuay.
Cardon, with a capacity to process 310 000 bpd of crude, alongside Amuay is part of Paraguana refining center.
PDVSA has in recent months made efforts to increase its production but has failed to meet demand, forcing people to wait many hours in line to obtain gasoline, especially outside the country's capital Caracas.