Thursday 20 September 2012

Oil tanks, thunder and explosions: Is it something in the air?

PDVSA now not only red-red but more often than not on fire

Two tanks at the huge El Palito refinary were burning last night. According to Ramírez, head of the state oil company PDVSA and Minister "of the Popular Power for Energy", a thunderstorm was the culprit:  lightning strokes hit two oil tanks and that was it.

A couple of years ago we heard about a huge fire after lightning stroke the Venezuelan refinery in Bonaire. There have been other minor incidents when we hear it was lightning again (when it is not an iguana or some other South American animal).

A friend in Bonaire told me back then people in that island were saying PDVSA Bonaire didn't have the proper equipment like lightning rods to prevent these accidents from happening. When the fire broke, it didn't even have the required foam and other equipment to extinguish the fire and the Dutch authorities had to help.

What is the truth about these lightning accidents in Venezuela's refineries? Do you know? Is this just bad luck or more of the bad maintenance issues that have plagued Venezuela's oil industry since 2003?

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