The present invention relates to a procedure for the reformation of gaseous or liquid fuels in mixtures with water and/or CO2 in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. It is differentiated from other reformation procedures based on plasma techniques in that the design and characteristics of the reactor are conducive to having virtually the entire process lead to the production of mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, with virtually no contribution from higher hydrocarbons. This process takes place at low temperatures and has low electrical power consumption requirements. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a barrier discharge plasma reactor for the reformation of fuels comprising a power supply source, a cylindrical electrode and a dielectric device.