On December 26 there was a fire in Cardón and in mid-March of last year the same thing happened. Various plants of the Paraguaná Refining Complex are constantly deactivated and reactivated due to failures caused by disinvestment and carelessness by the authorities
A new fire broke out at the Cardón refinery, part of the Paraguaná Refining Complex (CRP), located in the state of Falcón, one of the most important oil infrastructures in the country and vital for the production of gasoline.
The incident was reported by inhabitants of Paraguaná in Falcón, who saw the smoke that was issued from the refinery at approximately 2:00 pm.
It was not long before fire brigades arrived at the facilities to put out the fire and control the fire without any injuries being reported.
Three hours after the incident, statements are expected from the authorities regarding both the causes of the fire and the damage suffered by the infrastructure.
#15Jan 3:10 PM #falcon @elpiojolopez: Controlled fire occurred in the area of the trenches with hydrocarbons at the Cardón refinery, Punto Fijo. pic.twitter.com/8eawEkqh8o
– Report Now (@ReportYa) January 15, 2023
Despite the absence of official statements, according to information obtained by the whistlethe incident would have occurred due to a spark that fell from the mechurrio (a structure that burns gas) into a flammable waste lagoon.
Permanent fire in Cardón
This is not the first time a fire has been reported in Cardón. The previous time happened just three weeks ago, after one of the refining towers began to expel fire uncontrollably that ended up burning the surroundings.
On that occasion, the firefighters controlled the fire and no one was injured or died. The authorities spoke within hours and neither did they explain the causes of the event.
In mid-May there was also a fire in one of the Cardón treatment lagoons. The Minister of Oil, Tareck El Aissami, reported at that time that the fire was controlled and operations continued with “absolute normality.”
The constant problems suffered by Cardón’s infrastructure harm gasoline production. The complex produces only about 28,000 barrels per day of the almost 200,000 that it refined a decade ago.
Gasoline is not abundant in Venezuela. Its shortage since the pandemic began, almost three years ago, has led drivers to queue for kilometers at service stations to try to fill up.
*Read also: Amuay shutdown and billing failures worsen gasoline shortages even in Caracas
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