The work is devoted to simulation of plasma reforming of hydrocarbon gases by means of a kinetic approach. It is shown that the use of standard kinetic schemes, without inclusion of specific plasma processes, is sufficient for simulation of hydrogen production in discharges with hot plasmas, in particular, in low-current arc discharges. Results of simulation of methane and octane reforming are compared with data of experiments with low-current arcs available in the literature. An amount of hydrogen produced in octane reforming is calculated for a wide range of mixture compositions, temperatures at the reactor entrance, and discharge powers. (c) 2005 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.