What caused a fire in a crude oil storage tank?

The state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) reported this Wednesday that a lightning strike caused the fire in a crude oil storage tank located in a town in the state of Zuliawhich was recorded since early Tuesday morning, without the causes being known at that time.

«The extreme atmospheric conditions, characteristic of the area, caused the incident at approximately 4:40 am, when Lightning struck one of the tanks that stored light crude oil«PDVSA explained in a statement published on Telegram.

He indicated that since the beginning of the fire, in an oil yard in the city of Cabimas, a team of firefighters and specialists, in coordination with State agencies, activated the “safety protocol to mitigate the fire; achieving its containment in the first phase and preventing its spread.

“Thanks to the civic, military and police union, we will continue working for total control of this unfortunate incident,” he added.

PDVSA maintained that there are no “affects to third parties” and assured that the nearby communities “are out of danger.”

Tank stored 75,000 barrels of crude oil

On Tuesday, the general commander of the Cabimas fire department, Mufid Houmeidan, explained that the fire occurred in a tank with the capacity to store 75,000 barrels of oil.

«The evacuation of the city is not necessary, it is not necessary, this is confined here and we are only waiting for the foam to be able to inject. The city of Cabimas, rest assured that the Cabimas firefighters are here with PDVSA firefighters and we are going to put out this fire,” Houmeidan said in a video shared on social networks.

Last February, a partial fire broke out in a company dedicated to the treatment of oil waste located near Cabimas – as a result of the spread of forest fires around the facilities – which was subsequently controlled, as Houmeidan then informed EFE.