PDV hires outside help after string of accidents Energy Compass, July 21, 2006 |
| State Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) says it has hired international firm DuPont to train its refinery and petrochemical staff "to avoid recent and tragic accidents." PDV has recently suffered a number of problems at its 940,000 b/d-capacity Amuay-Cardon refining complex, one of the world's biggest refineries. The latest occurred this week, when a 190,000 b/d crude distillation unit caught fire at the 640,000 b/d Amuay plant. PDV said runs will fall by 74,000 b/d in July. Traders last week reported accidents at Amuay and at the neighboring 300,000 b/d Cardon plant. In April, a worker died at Amuay carrying out maintenance, two days after two people died in a hydrogen plant explosion at Cardon . Last December, two pipelines carrying 400,000 b/d to the complex were damaged in a blast that the government blamed on sabotage. That came a month after PDV said 20 people were injured during maintenance work at an alkylation unit. Critics like Fedepetrol , the oil workers' union, claim the accidents result from lack of preventive maintenance and security oversight in the wake of a damaging 2002-03 strike that also hurt upstream development. Half of PDV's staff was fired after the strike and allegedly replaced by less experienced personnel ( EC May13'05 ,p4 ). |