30 April 2013
Venezuela cuts US fuel imports as the Amuay refinery re-started
Last August, 39 people were killed and the refinery was badly damaged after an explosion, forcing the plant to close
Venezuela's new president Nicolas Maduro faces a long list of challenges in the oil industry and at state-run oil company PdV. But he has received one piece of good news this month: the country’s imports of refined fuel products from the US plunged in February as the Amuay refinery re-started production. Venezuelan imports of petroleum products fell to 54,266 barrels a day (b/d) in February, down nearly 75% from a peak of more than 200,000 b/d in December, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. Gasoline imports fell particularly sharply, declining 95% from around 116,000 b/d in January to just 6,166 b/in February. An explosion at the Amuay refinery last August kille
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