Explosion Rocks Venezuela Gas Facility, Injuring 6 Workers
An explosion and fire at a PDVSA-linked gas processing facility in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo injured six workers and renewed concerns over aging energy infrastructure.
(Reuters) — An explosion caused a fire at a gas processing facility in Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo on May 15, state-run oil company PDVSA confirmed, leaving six workers injured.
Fires and power outages are frequent at Venezuela's aging oil and gas facilities, especially in the western region, as a longstanding lack of foreign investment and U.S. sanctions have hindered maintenance.
PDVSA said in a statement it activated emergency protocols and evacuated personnel at the facility following the morning explosion.
The company confirmed that response teams assisted six injured workers. Earlier reports and videos seen by Reuters showed two workers had to jump into the water after suffering large burns. They were taken to a nearby hospital in the western city of Maracaibo, while four others were reported with less serious injuries.
PDVSA stated it has allocated specialized personnel and resources to extinguish the fire and that a technical committee will investigate the cause. The company added that the event has not affected the continuity of oil and gas operations in western Venezuela.
The fire erupted during a gas depressurizing maneuver at the Lamargas compression plant in Lake Maracaibo, according to PDVSA's internal reports of the incident, seen by Reuters.
The gas facility is part of the Lago Cinco project, operated by China Concord Resources Corp under a contract extended by PDVSA to produce crude in the lake's shallow waters.
The facility was damaged, one of the reports said, without elaborating.
The U.S. captured Venezuela's deposed President Nicolas Maduro in January, and Washington is encouraging foreign investment for Venezuela's energy industry as part of an ambitious $100 billion reconstruction plan.
However, the frequent accidents and the deep deterioration of PDVSA's facilities, from power plants to oilfields and refineries, continue casting doubts on what is really achievable, analysts and potential investors have warned.