September 3, 2012:

Four workers of Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex were injured after a fire broke out on Sunday at the Madero refinery in northern Mexico, the company said in a statement. The fire, which was put out within an hour, was the second to hit the refinery in Tamaulipas state in barely two weeks. The last blaze at the plant broke out on Aug. 13. The incident did not damage the refinery's processing plant, which continued to operate as normal, Pemex said. The fire started while installation work was being carried out in the vent line from the battery of the hydro-desulphurization plant at the head of the refinery's vent line, Pemex said. One of the men injured was in a serious condition, it said. The Madero refinery processes some 186,000 barrels per day, according to Pemex's website.

By Reuters

September 2, 2012:

A massive gas leak explosion at Venezuela's sprawling Amuay refinery on Aug. 25 killed 48 people and badly damaged 1,600 homes—the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, and the worst refinery accident anywhere on Earth in over a decade. The refinery on the Paraguana Peninsula (see map) is South America's largest and one of the world's largest, run by the state oil company PDVSA. Hundreds of residents of the poor Alí Primera and La Pastora districts near the facility have been left homeless. As the inferno blazed for four days, prompting an exodus from the stricken districts, gangs of looters descended, breaking into the still-standing homes to carry away refrigerators and TV sets. Opposition critics charge that PDVSA failed to carry out maintenance work or improve safety standards following a string of accidents and unplanned outages at the refinery in recent years. Last year, three workers were killed in accidents at the facility. According to PDVSA documents, nine shut-downs for maintenance were scheduled in 2011, but only three actually took place. The others were officially postponed till 2012—yet have still not taken place. The opposition press accuses PDVSA of appointing managers on the basis of their loyalty to President Hugo Chávez rather than experience or competency, and has dubbed the Amuay disaster "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," after the famous novel by Gabriel García Márquez.

Critics point to other recent PDVSA mishaps. In 2010, there was a massive fire at a PDVSA fuel terminal on the Caribbean island of Bonaire, followed by a dockside blaze at the Paraguana complex that halted shipping for four days. Also in 2010, a natural gas exploration rig, the Aban Pearl, sank in the Caribbean. All 95 workers were rescued safely. Energy Minister Rafael Ramírez said the cause of the Amuay blast is under investigation but that "there is no way" it could have been related to faulty maintenance at the facility. He called local rumors that a gas leak had gone unaddressed for days before the blast an "absolute lie." Like the opposition, he also pointed to the politicization of the PDVSA—but placed the shoe on the other foot, saying the company "is subject to threats and has been perpetually attacked," a reference to the 2002 opposition-called strike that crippled operations. "It has been converted into a target for the enemies of our president, the enemies of the country, an objective of war."

By Reuters

September 2, 2012:

Bountiful Penny Edwards reached deep into a tomato bush and pulled out a pear-shaped roma just beginning to turn red, signaling the imminent arrival of what should have been a bountiful harvest. Then she rubbed a black fleck on the fruit and frowned as it became an oily smear across the smooth skin.  "This is my canning season. It’s just getting started," Edwards said Saturday morning, surveying the nearly invisible damage left by an oily film covering her immaculate backyard. Who would have forecast a black rain in the late summer that would spoil her and husband Herb’s garden? But that’s what happened in this Bountiful neighborhood Thursday evening when a storage tank at a nearby oil refinery blew its top and sprayed an estimated 8,400 gallons of crude into the sky. Officials at HollyFrontier refinery in Woods Cross speculate water had entered the tank, which stores waxy crude that must be heated to 300 degrees to keep it liquid. At that temperature, water turns to steam and the pressure may have mounted faster than the vents could handle, according to company officials. The tank’s roof ruptured along a seam, releasing the hot crude. "It will take several weeks to get in there to investigate," said the refinery’s environmental manager, Mike Astin. No one was injured, but cleanup is expected to take days. Astin said the oil poses no health risks.

"It is a natural material. It will biodegrade. The biggest problem is the mess," he said. "We have caused them [residents] an inconvenience. We want to make it as convenient as possible for them to clean up." Woods Cross Mayor Kent Parry said he was comfortable with the refinery’s response. "They were on it without any prompting from anybody,"Parry said. "They beat us into the neighborhoods to get things taken care of." Thursday’s accident was one of hundreds of environmental incidents since 2000 along southern Davis County’s refinery row. Now HollyFrontier and neighboring refineries are seeking to expand their capacity to process black wax, the viscous crude that comes from eastern  Edwards’ neighbor Harry Wicker had figured the companies could safely handle this oil. "Now I don’t feel good at all," he said, pointing to greasy spots on the driveway and furniture. On Thursday, wind-pushed oil settled over a 40-yard-wide swath for more than a mile to the southeast, deep into Bountiful’s residential areas. Most visibly hit were commercial strips close to the refinery, where little oil globs clung to buildings and cars. The farther the oil moved to the southeast, the finer the droplets appear to have become. By the time the oil strafed Edwards’ cul-de-sac at 450 West and 1400 South, few noticed it at first.

But a close look reveals countless pencil points of oil. Without realizing it, residents were tracking the stuff into their homes and wrecking their shoes. "We got hammered," said neighbor Ryan Johnson, who discovered oil hit his home before he drove to classes Friday at Salt Lake Community College. He turned on the wipers only to smear tiny oil drops all over the windshield. "What’s most concerning is the fact you can barely see it," said Johnson’s wife, Whitney, as cleaning crews arrived Saturday on her street. "Our dog is outside all the time. She’s probably covered in it. Even if it’s not coming down anymore, we don’t know if it’s still in the air." The Johnsons have three daughters, one of whom suffers from asthma. Workers contracted by HollyFrontier brought residents’ patio furniture and other outdoor accessories into the driveways to wash them down with powerful jets. The waste water was collected and pumped into a tanker. The Johnsons figure the fabric awnings over their patio and the hot tub cover cannot be salvaged.

Health authorities are monitoring the oil’s presence in surface water. The crude is one of the more benign substances handled at the refinery, according to Dave Spence, environmental health services manager for the Davis County Health Department.  "We are lucky. It’s really nontoxic. The basic worry is it clings to things," Spence said. "If you are worried about tracking it into your home, take your shoes off before going inside." Oil-covered lawns pose a special problem since they can’t be cleaned and can easily transfer the oil onto dogs, kids and shoes. HollyFrontier plans to send crews to mow lawns Tuesday and again after the grass has grown some more. On a wall at the end of the cul-de-sac on the Johnsons’ block, someone had painted the words: "Good character like good soup is usually made at home."

The same can be said for good produce. HollyFrontier officials suggest backyard gardeners throw out their harvest, buy replacement goods at farmers markets and give the company the bill. But Edwards believes reimbursement misses the point since home-grown produce has a value that can’t be measured. She figures she could salvage the tomatoes and pumpkins with careful washing. "But the green beans, I don’t dare use those at all. They don’t have a slick skin. They are fuzzy and things stick to it," Edwards said. "We also grow a lot of grapes. It’s disgruntling."

By The Salt Lake Trbune

September 2, 2012:

DUBAI - Iran's oil exports are at their normal levels and are unaffected by Western embargoes, an Iranian oil official was quoted as saying on Sunday. "We don't see anything abnormal, almost everything is progressing routinely," Mohammad Ali Khatibi Tabatabaei, director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). He did not give any figures on Iran's current oil export levels. Iran's top oil customers have slashed Iranian purchases under pressure from European Union and U.S. sanctions that aim to squeeze Tehran's oil income and curb its nuclear programme. Japan's imports of Iranian crude fell to zero in July for the first time since 1981, trade ministry data showed last week. To compensate, Japan increased imports from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, among other suppliers.

South Africa imported no crude oil from Iran in July, customs data showed last week. The country used to import a quarter of its crude from Iran. The EU's embargo also included a ban on insurance of Iranian cargoes. Tehran has offered to provide up to $1 billion of insurance cover to Iranian vessels shipping oil. "This step has been taken in the last few months and everyone saw that the insurance companies could provide $1 billion in coverage," Tabatabaei was quoted as saying.

By IBN Live

September 2, 2012:

British engineering company Amec and US-based Foster Wheeler have been awarded consultancy contracts by Kuwait for its new refinery and clean fuel projects, al-Rai has reported, citing unnamed sources. The KD4bn Al-Zour project aims to build the Middle East's largest oil refinery, while the KD4.6bn clean fuel project plans to upgrade and boost capacity at existing facilities. Both have faced delays due to political instability. The value of the contracts amounts to around 2% of each of their total budgets, the daily said.

By AME Info