An apparent power outage has affected a crude oil refinery complex in north-west Venezuela on Saturday night, plunging a nearby community into darkness.
The blackout halted Amuay and Cardon, two oil refineries located in the Paraguana Peninsula, Reuters reports citing sources within the state oil company PDVSA.
Amuay and Cardon are two of the three refineries of Venezuela's largest refinery complex, operated by PDSVA.
White the company has not confirmed the news yet, photos of the blackout began making their way to social media.
Dario Tremont, a regional coordinator of the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) opposition party, claimed that the blackout took place near midnight after the breakdown of the third turbine at Cardon refinery.
Cerca de la media noche se presenta un Blackout en refinería de Amuay...Se fue la luz en cardon y amuay por que se dispararon las 3 turbina de cardon. Cerraron puerta 1 de ambas refinería y esta tomada por la guardia nacional y el sebin. pic.twitter.com/yK41yGOv6A
— 📢DaríoVP ⏩🇻🇪 (@DarioTremont) 7 июля 2019 г.
Another user said the outage has affected the entire Paraguaná Peninsula. Purported photos from the scene show the refinery.
ÚLTIMA HORA: Todo #PuntoFijo y #Paraguana sin electricidad. Pasada la media noche ocurrió un black out, se quedó en luz la Refinería (CRP Amuay y Cardón) y la ciudad entera. #7Jul @Dereckb @AlbertoRodNews @mariannaparraga @soyfdelrincon @VenteFalcon @conexionRCL pic.twitter.com/i0Zb9fRDPb
— Aly Jesus Robertis C (@AlyJesus19) 7 июля 2019 г.
Cardon halted operations back in May after some of its facilities were damaged.
A devastating power cut left most of the country without electricity between 7 and 14 March, disrupting phone lines, water supplies water and public transport services, as well as bringing down internet traffic.
Electric Energy Minister Dominguez said the blackout was the result of a deliberate "sabotage" of the Guri hydroelectric power plant, while President Maduro blamed the crisis on the United States, which denied any involvement, and opposition leader Juan Guaido.
The first blackout was followed by a series of power failures in March and April.
