After the explosions that occurred in Petroleos de Venezuela’s (Pdvsa) Muscar Gas Compression Plant on the morning of Monday, November 11th, in specifically in a 26-inch gas pipeline, in the town of Punta de Mata, west of Monagas State, oil experts warn that crude oil production could be paralyzed for a time in this region of the east of the country.
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A petroleum engineer who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, explained that oil in Monagas is produced in association with gas, so when the gas valves are closed, hydrocarbon production is paralyzed.
The source also points out that this accident, which PDVSA has attributed to an alleged “attack on the industry,” will have an impact on natural gas and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) production, although it did not specify the magnitude, since there is no data on production in Anaco, San Tomé and the rest of the country.
However, if crude oil production continues as a “crazy measure,” there will be trouble throughout the north of the state. In a post published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the account @soygdelpetroleo indicated that the gas produced there is destined for the domestic market and mostly the electricity generating sector.
The expert source on oil issues specified that these types of accidents are associated with: design errors, maintenance and prevention failures, failures in backup and security protocols, errors of the personnel who handle the operation.
“The particular case of the Muscar Gas Plant, which was a first-class facility on the entire gas planet, is very strange because its safety and protection mechanisms are stored in a SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and, at the same time, there are local actions with local valves and telematic valves that would operate in the event of any eventuality. Basically, when a leak occurs there is a violent drop in pressure and almost instantly a valve detects this situation and proceeds to close. That is why it is called a safety valve,” the informant explains.
It is important to note that the SCADA system is software that allows remote control and supervision of facilities, collecting, transmitting and analyzing data in real time. In the case of the oil industry, it is used to ensure production and safety in a refinery or any complex installation.
What could have gone wrong?
If the personnel was well prepared, there could have been a metallurgical failure, a broken pipe, which could have triggered a leak that was not detected by the sensors and the valves that corresponded to them in this type of accident did not act. It is presumed that any spark could have started the fire and the explosions.
In the case of the injured, in addition to the burns, it is presumed that their hearing is very affected, warns the oil source.
Prevention
Adequate maintenance programs, continuous reengineering processes and change management to adapt the systems to the variations that occur during the growth of any project, are some of the main measures to prevent this type of accident, highlights the specialist.
In the case of gas and oil, sometimes the compositions of these hydrocarbons and the safe operating pressure levels change, so the parameters must be adjusted so that everything works according to what the SCADA system has in its memory.
Staff training, emergency drills and routine preventive inspections must also be carried out, as well as inspections of the pipelines, determination of thicknesses, technical tests of control loops and variations in tension in the metal part, which are also part of the preventive measures.
A call for calm
Through a statement the chavista mayor of the Ezequiel Zamora municipality, Óscar Cedeño, asked the community in general to remain calm and to “continue their daily activities.” Due to its proximity to the Muscar Complex, the national highway that connects the states of Monagas and Anzoátegui remains temporarily closed, while firefighters work to completely extinguish the fire caused by the incident.
This has not been the only accident that has occurred in this Gas Compression Plant. In 2002, a large-scale explosion also occurred, which required the replacement of 16 kilometers of pipeline (10 miles), the redesign of the cathodic protection system and the closure of crude oil pits that were outside technical specifications.
The fires have caused structural damage to the complex, gas pipelines and multi-purpose pipelines. The shock waves have affected the environment, the biosphere and surrounding communities. Toxic substances have contaminated the soil and air, putting people’s health at risk, as well as that of the workers.
On the other hand, the economic losses for the oil industry and society itself have a high impact, difficult to quantify due to the prevailing opacity in the country.
It was learned that on Tuesday, November 12th, inspection work was being carried out at the site where the explosion occurred, but there is a prohibition on access for unauthorized personnel, as well as for workers.