NiQuan: Probe into April explosion completed

NiQuan Energy Ltd says the investigation into the explosion at its gas-to-liquids plant in Pointe-a-Pierre has been completed. But no details were provided.

On April 7, the plant’s hydrocracker system failed during an attempted startup, resulting in a loud explosion heard and felt by people as far as La Brea.

The company’s vice president of corporate affairs, Malcolm Wells, had told Newsday the incident was “a serious equipment failure.

“This resulted in the blowout of the DA-301 system, part of the product cleaning process, and caused a fire.

“We cannot turn back the clock, but we can commit to doing everything necessary to ensure that we learn from this incident and that there is no repeat of this failure.”

NiQuan, the Energy Ministry, the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and Agency (OSHA) and the Environmental Management Authority then launched investigations into the blast.

Asked for an update, Wells told Newsday, "The investigation has been completed and we’ve applied the recommended mitigation measures.

"Our focus is now on completing the plant safely and we are working towards that objective."

The Prime Minister opened the plant on March 8.