An explosion and fire at the Cardón refinery in Punto Fijo, in Venezuela's western Falcón state, has forced the plant to suspend operations, Reuters reported, with the blaze said to have started in a gas line. The facility (part of the Paraguaná Refining Complex, run by state oil company PDVSA) can process about 300,000 barrels of crude a day when running at capacity. The shutdown matters because it further strains domestic fuel supply and refining output in a country whose oil sector is already struggling.