Drivers wait several to several hours for refueling, and in the provinces – even longer than a day. It follows the failure of two major refineries in Venezuela, the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, which account for 18 percent of its global reserves, EFE reported.
The only exception is the capital of the country, Caracas, where, at the behest of the president, Nicolas Maduro exercising dictatorial power in a population of nearly 29 million Venezuela“for reasons of prestige”, writes the Spanish agency EFE, petrol stations are generally regularly supplied with fuel.
It is not known when production will resume
Latin American news portals comment on this regulation of the Venezuelan dictator as motivated by the fear of street protests in the capital.
During the previous acute oil crisis that the world fuel powerhouse was experiencing in 2020, the government sent the military to the streets to quell the protests of citizens. In Venezuela, the refinery in Puerto de Cruz remains active, whose fuel production is only 14 percent. country’s daily needs. Authorities have not said when production will resume at the country’s major refineries.
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