AMUAY OIL REFINERY

EXPLOSION

Prepared by:

Kauthar Yussuf Maalim

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GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND ACTIVITIES

Amuay is located in Falcon state in north-western Venezuela

Amuay refinery is one of the biggest refineries in the world which began operation in January 1950 It produced over 940.000 barrels per day of

crude oil. The nearest cities to Amuay are Judibana

and Punto Fijo.2

LOCATION ON A MAP

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EXPLOSION BACKGROUND It happened on Saturday 25th August, 2012 The worst accident to hit the OPEC nation's oil

industry The explosion was caused by a gas leak The gas cloud exploded, igniting at least

three storage tanks, and other facilities Flames reaching 30 meters into the night air

crackled almost 20 hours after the explosion occurred

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WHAT WENT WRONG

According to petroleum energy minister, Rafael

Ramírez , it was an act of sabotage by factors

external to the refinery

Intentionally-loosened bolts in a gas pump

caused a leak that led to the ensuing blast

Massive leak of propane that lasted almost 70

minutes caused the accident 5

SCALE OF ACCIDENT

The explosion killed no fewer than 41 people

and injuring more than 86 others

The explosion and fire completely incinerated the

military post, the Puramin plant, part of a

neighboring hydrogen plant, several residential

areas, several storage areas for fuels and gases,

and LPG facilities. 6

PROPERTY LOSS

The total damages caused by the explosion to

Amuay's facilities represent $1.84 billion

including the losses caused by the refinery's

shutdown

As many as 3,400 houses, restaurants, schools

and others structures were destroyed or

damaged 7

Visible Impacts: 

Air pollution

Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity),

Oil spills, Deforestation and loss of vegetation

cover, Surface water pollution

Accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain

complex risks (radiation),

Death8

Average production at the refinery was down by

170,000 bpd at 310,000 bpd after the fire until

repairs were completed.

It is now running around 435,000 bpd, or 68

percent of capacity

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REFERENCES

amuay property loss - Google Search. (2017). Google.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017, from https://www.google.com/search?q=amuay+property+loss&newwindow=1&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSxtXP3arSAhWDX5QKHbZhCloQ_AUICSgC&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=rGQiPjtDVb_hpM:

HORROR: Oil Refinery Blast Kills Dozens. (2017). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 February 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/amuay-venezuela-oil-refinery-explosion_n_1830737.html

Huge blast stops Venezuela's main oil refinery Amuay - BBC News. (2017). BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19378657

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https://www.google.com/searchttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/amuay-http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-