Fire hits PDVSA’s Amuay refinery

Dec. 30, 2013
A fire that broke out early morning on Dec. 30 in the Amuay section of Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s (PDVSA) 940,000-b/d Paraguana Refining Center in Venezuela has been extinguished, according the company.

A fire that broke out early morning on Dec. 30 in the Amuay section of Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s (PDVSA) 940,000-b/d Paraguana Refining Center in Venezuela has been extinguished, according the company.

The fire, which occurred about 5:35 a.m. in Distillation Unit 3 of the refinery, was quickly contained, and normal operations at the complex resumed by 7:00 a.m., PDVSA said in a Dec. 30 posting to its web site.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, and there was no impact to the adjacent 270,000-b/d Cardon refinery in Falcon state, PDVSA said.

While neither a cause of the fire nor the impact to production at the 645,000-b/d Amuay refinery were disclosed, the company said the incident would not impact the refinery’s fuel supply commitments to the domestic or export markets.