Company claims sabotage at rural field

STATE-OWNED oil company Petrotrin has reportedly discovered three acts of sabotage at one of its rural production fields.

The company was thrust into the national spotlight after its board decided to shut down the refinery and retrench all the workers. The company is scheduled to cease operations on November 30.

In a media statement, Petrotrin said at 11.45 pm on Tuesday, production personnel doing routine checks at its Central Los Bajos Field discovered “three incidents” at the North Palo Seco Tank Battery No 1. Investigations later revealed the three incidents were the result of sabotage, it said.

The first incident was a fire at the chemical shed at the Battery. A Petrotrin official, who requested anonymity, described the fire as “small” as only the chemicals stored at the shed were burnt. The fire was extinguished by Petrotrin’s emergency response Fire and HSE personnel.

The second incident involved the opening of a two-inch diameter valve on Tank No 1 and a bull plug removed from Tank No 2, causing a quantity of oil and water to flow inside the bunded area (inside a retaining wall).

The official said both the valve and bull plug could only be opened or removed manually. The official said the oil which had flowed into the bund area was subsequently retrieved and transported to the main storage area. Clean-up is reportedly continuing at the site, and there are no signs of pollution in the surrounding areas.

The bleed valves on four test tanks were also opened, but the tanks were empty. The valves were closed by company personnel.

All regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs; the Environmental Management Authority (EMA); and the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) have been notified.

In an immediate response, OWTU chief education and research officer Ozzi Warwick said the allegations were “absolute nonsense.”

Neither Energy Minister Franklin Khan nor Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet could be reached for comment.