View of the fire reported in a waste lagoon at the Cardón Refinery, Falcon state, on Monday, December 26, 2022. Photo: La Patilla.
Firefighters from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in Falcón state were able to gain control of the fire reported on the night of Monday, December 26, in a waste lagoon at the Cardón refinery, part of the Paraguaná Refining Hub.
This was confirmed the same night through the social media accounts of Vice Minister for Risk Management and Civil Protection Carlos Pérez Ampueda.
Pérez Ampueda indicated that the National Risk Management System carried out fire extinguishing maneuvers in the waste lagoon.
Sistema Nacional de Gestión de Riesgo ejecuta maniobras de extinción de incendio en la laguna de residuos ubicada en la Refinería Cardón de Paraguaná, Edo. Falcón. Confinada para su extinción, sin posibilidad de propagación. No se reportan heridos ni lesionados.@CeballosIchaso1 pic.twitter.com/5F0gf0hk4U
— cperezampueda (@cperezampueda) December 27, 2022
Likewise, he explained that the damage in the artificial body of water (a deposit for the waste derived from the refining activity) was confined with no possibility of spreading.
No injuries were reported as a result of the event.
Regular Operations at Paraguaná’s Cardón Refinery Following Fire
Large-scale fire in the Cardón refinery in western Venezuela. Cardón is part of the Paraguaná Refining Complex, the largest in the hemisphere. Firemen and PDVSA staff are on the scene. More updates as we find out pic.twitter.com/ZLTzvFpuAX
— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) December 27, 2022
A similar fire was recorded last May in one of the treatment lagoons of this refinery. Shortly thereafter, the fire was extinguished and the refinery continued to operate normally.
The Cardón Refinery is part of the Paraguaná Refining Hub (CRP), next to the Amuay refinery. It is the second largest production center for oil derivatives—including gasoline—in the world, and one of the main targets of sabotage in Venezuela, a component of the ongoing hybrid war, led by USA, waged on Venezuela since the election of socialist Hugo Chávez as president in 1998.
Venezuela Restarts Gasoline Production at the Cardón Refinery
Cardón has had to comply with very demanding technological adjustments to overcome the consequences of the economic blockade. This has prevented the acquisition of parts and supplies required to meet production goals.
Iran, also suffering under myriad US-led unilateral economic coercive measures, has helped Venezuela to fight the effects of the economic blockade—euphemistically referred to as sanctions—against its oil industry.
Sending oil tankers with gasoline, condensate necessary for the refining process, and technology and parts to overcome Venezuela’s traditional dependency on US technology, Iran has helped Venezuela to achieve increasing sovereignty. With this independence, Venezuela has slowly built up its defenses against the economic warfare of the US-led illegal sanctions regime.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
