Massive Explosion Shuts Venezuela’s Second-Largest Refinery amid Global Oil Crisis
by Frank Bergman
A massive explosion and fire have shut down Venezuela’s second-largest oil refinery, knocking a facility with a capacity of 310,000 barrels per day offline as global energy markets struggle with soaring transportation costs and refining bottlenecks.
Huge columns of flames and smoke erupted from the Cardon refinery after a natural gas line ruptured, forcing operations across the facility to halt.
The shutdown adds another disruption to an energy system already strained by war, expensive tanker shipments, and high insurance costs.
More crude is moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
But Brent oil is still trading above $100 per barrel and getting that crude refined and delivered remains a costly challenge.
Explosion Forces Entire Refinery Offline
Cardon forms part of state-run oil company PDVSA’s Paraguana Refining Center, Venezuela’s largest refining complex, with a combined capacity of 955,000 barrels per day.
Eight sources familiar with the situation confirmed the fire to Reuters.
Two said it began at a gas line serving the refinery’s diesel hydrotreater and forced the entire facility, including its boilers, to shut down.
PDVSA later said a natural gas line feeding the boilers ruptured at approximately 3:25 p.m.
The company said it quickly contained the blaze and reported no injuries or major damage. It is investigating the incident and evaluating the situation.
Videos posted on social media show towering flames and smoke pouring from the refinery.
Venezuela's Cardón Oil Refinery, the country's second-largest, exploded and caught fire today.
The facility has reportedly halted operations, per Reuters. pic.twitter.com/2aUAJVFOID
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 6, 2026