PDVSA stopped the production of gasoline in one of the main refineries in Venezuela

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA halted gasoline production at the 146,000 barrels per day (bpd) El Palito refinery just days after resuming operations, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The stoppage at the refinery on the Venezuelan central coast, occurs when long lines of vehicles are registered at service stations waiting to load fuel in the once prosperous OPEC nation experiencing a chronic acute gasoline shortage. Residents on the outskirts of the capital Caracas blocked roads this week to protest the shortage.

PDVSA's refining network, with a capacity of 1.3 million bpd is almost collapsed after years of divestment, while US sanctions against the Nicolás Maduro regime and PDVSA have complicated fuel imports this year. PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The only plant currently producing gasoline is the 310,000 bpd Cardón refinery located in northwestern Venezuela.

The team of opposition leader Juan Guaidó said on Friday that it will appeal the ruling of a United States judge who ruled that the 2020 bonds of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, guaranteed with 50.1% of Citgo shares are valid and enforceable.

The opposition, with the capacity to represent Venezuela in the US courts, after Washington recognized in 2019 the head of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate leader of the country filed a lawsuit to declare the bonds invalid on the grounds that the regime Nicolás Maduro had issued them without the approval of Parliament.

Guaidó's press office said in a statement, our duty is to defend the highest interests of the nation for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. We will not stop taking the necessary actions to ensure that objective.

The opposition failed to make a payment last year, increasing the possibility that potential creditors will seize a stake in PDVSA's US subsidiary Citgo, but US sanctions currently prevent them from doing so. The United States government has used sanctions against Venezuela, designed to pressure the departure of dictator Maduro , to prevent bondholders from taking such action until at least January 2021. Opposition lawyers presented a note of protection on Thursday, in which they stated their intention to appeal the decision, court records show.

Since last year, Washington has increased the sanctions against PDVSA, which has affected the commercialization of crude oil and the import of gasoline. Maduro still has internal control of the state oil company, while the oil opposition controls Citgo.