Venezuela Begins Gasoline Rationing

PDVSA began a partial rationing of gasoline at gas stations in certain areas of Venezuela, as many gas stations in Caracas ran out of fuel as customers nervously filled up their tanks in anticipation of shortages, sources said Tuesday.
"The supply of gas at stations close to highways will have priority, but the rest of the country will see partial rationing," said a director of the National Federation of Hydrocarbon Business Associations (Fenegas), who spoke on condition of anonymity, Platts reported.
"With its refineries in precarious condition and without access to imported refined productions, PDVSA will have to ration fuel sold in the local markets," said Ivan Freites, a PDVSA union leader.
Amid the political crisis, fuel inventories are at critical levels. Freites said that "in its current condition, with insufficient inventories of components to make gasoline, refinery is in a condition to produce under the best of scenarios 46,000 bpd of 95 Ron blendstock and 37,000 bpd of 91 Ron blendstock."
According to the PDVSA technical report seen by S&P Global Platts, gasoline inventories have been exhausted while levels of diesel and LPG are enough to last only two days on average.
According to Products Plan January 2019, a document from the office of PDVSA's refining vice president,  consumption in the domestic market is running at an average 270,000 bpd, of which 173,000 bpd, or 64%, is represented by 91 and 95 octane gasoline.