PDVSA REFINERY EXPLOSION

Investigation and Discussion of the 2012 Explosion

Isamar Alhakeem
Athmar Alzubaidi
Enjoli Archer
Ryan Griffin

Submitted: 10/4/19
Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Discussion ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................... 4

1
Abstract
On August 25, 2012, the refinery company named Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA)
experienced a catastrophic explosion in Amuay, Venezuela. The blast caused tremendous damage with
a fatality count of at least 48. Subsequently, approximately 151 civilians were injured, and 1,600 homes
were damaged by the shockwave. In total an estimated amount of 1.7 billion was lost on damages. The
Venezuelan government conducted an investigation and determined that a gas leak was the root cause Commented [A1]: Due to what types of failure condition that
result in gas leak?
of the explosion. The event caused a political battle between the government and opposition. Many I.e.: Pipe thread leak? Pipe cracks due to stress? Corrosion?

accused the government, led by President Hugo Chavez at the time, for negligence in safe maintenance
and practice. It was noted that certain events within the same year leading to the explosion caused the
Amuay refinery to shut down operations. This occurred at least twice due to small fires and failure of a
cooling unit. It was concluded that the explosion was caused by a massive leak lasting approximately 70 Commented [A2]: What penalty/fines did the company face?

minutes and, arguably, overall poor maintenance. Commented [A3]: What needs to be done to prevent similar
accidents?

Commented [A4]: Introduction should be a brief mention in

Introduction
A crucial industry, oil accounts for roughly 95% of Venezuela’s exports and 20% of its GDP. With
more wells being discovered, PDVSA can be seen growing in size throughout the years leading up to the
explosion. Despite the capacity expansions from large capital investments, safety remained a concern,
made evident by the growing number of maintenance issues. According to Heinrich’s Triangle Theory, an
implementations failure in design and other factors that led to the
accident and what resulted from the accident
Structure is currently is very scatter and out-of-place
Commented [A5]: Expand more on company description, size,
and background.
i.e.: when did it become operational? How many workers?
Production capacity? Any changes that occur within the year of
accident?

increase in unsafe activities will eventually lead to fatalities, which was demonstrated in 2012 when a Commented [A6]: Sentence do no connect

large gas cloud ignited.

This ignition caused a large explosion and the ignition of at least two storage tanks. Despite the
PDVSA president’s assurances, the fire from these two storage tanks wasn’t contained and spread to a
third tank, causing it to explode as well. The result was almost $2 billion in damages and nearly 40 Commented [A7]: Inconsistency? Previous estimate was $1.7
billion damage
fatalities. The refinery complex and its surrounding neighborhoods housed the workers and their
families, which contributed to the large sum of injuries, fatalities, and damage. In addition, 13 families
were displaced because their homes were destroyed.

According to the LA Times, this refinery produced roughly half of Venezuela’s fuel and was the Commented [A8]: Move this paragraph to top, as PDVSA
description
third largest in the world. Despite its importance and Venezuela’s dependence on this facility, safety
and maintenance were not made priorities. The New York Times quoted a former PDVSA executive
saying that PDVSA’s 2011 incident rate was “several times greater than that of Colombia’s state oil

2
company, Ecopetrol.” Iván Freites, a union leader in the United Federation of Oil Workers, said that he
had filed complaints “since last year about problems with damaged equipment, lack of spare parts, and
other unsafe conditions.” PDVSA did plan nine maintenance projects that year but postponed six of
them.

MISSING: Process Description Commented [A9]: Needs clear description of processing steps
including reactions and separation that the facility uses for their
MISSING: Case Study accident timeline process
If unable to find it, can probably find similar oil refinery process and
mention how those process generally works
MISSING: Ultimate results
Commented [A10]: A timeline starting from what went wrong
(equipment or other factors) to facility members respond (detected
Root Causes of accidentDiscussion or unnoticed?) to accident occurrence to emergency response

In 2002 President Chavez fired approximately 18,000 PDVSA workers, replacing them with less
skilled, but notably strong, Chavez activist supporters. This took place after many PDVSA workers went
on strike in an attempt to call early elections. The strike caused a cessation in oil production for two
months until the government took control. This marks the downfall of the safety in the oil refinery
business in Venezuela.
Commented [A11]: Provide more details in how this accident
affected employees, company, and the community
Commented [A12]: This part appears to be root of cause, but
does not describe various situations such as equipment and
procedure that were the root cause of accident
Mentions of root cause appears to be about management details
and political interference, but mostly seem to be based on news
speculation and not on solid findings

According to company data, the state-owned oil company PDVSA registered 519 accidents,
causing 3,400 employee injuries and 24 deaths in 2012. José Bodas, general secretary of Venezuela’s
Federation of Oil Workers Union, pointed out the continued occurrence of fires, spills, and equipment
failures. He was quoted saying, "Each accident has its own origin. The overall commonality we're seeing
is the lack of maintenance investment, and the incompletion of security regulations." In a phone call to
Globovision, a television channel associated with the political opposition to President Chávez, he said
that the company had failed to invest in maintenance. “This has, as a consequence, the increase in
accidents and tragic deaths like what we are seeing today.” Amidst calls for increased safety and new
funding initiatives, Mr. Bodas says "things remain the same… We still haven't seen the political will.”

Despite the number of accidents at PDVSA facilities, critics remain skeptical of claims of
insurrection. Eddie Ramírez, national coordinator of Gente de Petróleo, said, "We've heard sabotage
before… One has to ask, is sabotage also the cause of falling production?" Authorities said foul play was
involved in the deadly gas explosion. Rafael Ramírez, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) president
and petroleum energy minister, released the 117-page report of a state-sponsored investigation in Commented [A13]: Should look into if available
If not, probably look into similar oil refinery incident reports to
September of 2013, claiming that intentionally loosened bolts in a gas pump caused a leak that led to build a hypothetical root cause
General articles about oil refinery precautions and what could
the blast. Citing this report, lawmakers described the blast as completely avoidable. hypnotically occur if things go wrong should also be look into

3
 Commented [A14]: This part need to summarize the root
Lessons learnedConclusion causes and then describes what implementations can take place to
It was determined that several factors went into the explosion, including inexperienced workers prevent similar accidents from occurring as the concluding content
Conclusion is currently very lackluster
and failure to maintain equipment and follow proper protocol. Additionally, each one boils down to a Overall paper should minimize in the use of quotes, as they current
made up majority of the paper
lack of respect for the safety measures that are in place to prevent such incidents. Industry observers
said that the 2012 explosion was more likely a symptom of the overall deterioration at PDVSA than any
kind of sabotage. Energy analyst and Latin American specialist at the University of Texas at Austin, Jorge
Piñon, is quoted as saying, “Safety is ... part of running a business in this inherently high-risk industry
[and] PDVSA has lost sight of that."

Commented [A15]: Should be in its own separate page

References
Lopez, V. (2012, Augest 26). Venezuela refinery explosion death toll rises to 41.Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/26/venezuela-refinery-explosion-death-toll

Rosati, A. (2013, September 16). What was behind Venezuela's deadly oil refinery explosion? Retrieved
from https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0916/What-was-behind-Venezuela-s-deadly-
oil-refinery-explosion.

Smith, M. (2013, Jan 11). Venezuela, Oil and Chavez: a Tangled Tale. Retrieved from
https://www.cnbc.com/id/100373746

Urribarri, S. and Parraga, M. (2012, August 25). Explosion kills 39 at Venezuela's biggest refinery.
Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-refinery/explosion-kills-39-at-
venezuelas-biggest-refinery-idUSBRE87O02R20120826.

Wolfe, S.( August 27, 2012 · 7:59 PM UTC ). Venezuela refinery blast death toll rises to 48. Retrieved
from https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-08-27/venezuela-refinery-blast-death-toll-rises-48.