Petrotrin...Tick...Tick...Tick

WITHIN the past year, there have been at least 15 reported cases of mishaps and/or accidents at State-owned oil company Petrotrin and sister company Trinmar. There was one death,  the result of a blowout at an off-shore platform. Energy Minister Eric Williams has  acknowledged that Petrotrin is an aging plant. “Petrotrin is looking into all these issues,” he said of the recent accidents.  “We do recognize that we have inherited an aging plant. He added that an announcement had been made regarding the complete revamping of the refinery. “We are going to put a team together of both industry and Government to look at the standards for construction and maintenance of pipelines in our industry.” “We are putting things in place so we can revisit it and take a look at those problems,” the Minister added. One thing is clear, this country can ill-afford a major disaster at the oil-company.

Petrotrin said it  is well aware that  accidents  do occur but it has adopted a philosophy of “zero tolerance” towards such incidents. In an attempt to defend itself, the company said the challenge it faces was that it was formed from a merger of several predecessor oil companies, some of whom have been here for almost a hundred years. “A significant portion of the infrastructure and installations from which the company operates are over 50-years-old and constitute an ongoing challenge for the company,” said Mark Lyndersay of the corporate communications department, in a prepared statement faxed to Newsday. “Over the years Petrotrin has ensured that chemicals, machinery acquired and processes utilised for current operations are in keeping with relevant international HSE standards and legislation,” the statement said.

Petrotrin, he said, has initiated an aggressive remediation programme that has seen more than 40 chronically polluted sites in our exploration and production fields being remediated over the last four years. It has implemented numerous preventive maintenance programmes for onshore petroleum operations, he said. The company, he said, is also putting special emphasis on emergency response in the following areas: oil spills; fire and bomb threats; major field explosions; well blowouts; and hurricane preparedness. It also  seeks to continuously improve its operations so that the severity of impact can be alleviated.To this end, Petrotrin’s Trinmar Operations as well as its onshore Exploration and Production operations have since achieved ISO 14001 certification and has gained the approval of external registrars Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (Houston) for the efforts that have been implemented for environmental improvements.

The company is currently implementing safety management system for its exploration and production as well as its refining and marketing operations. OWTU branch secretary for Petrotrin, Shaffique Hyatali, said  he believed workers at the State company face major risks to life and limb on a daily basis. The latest mishap to befall the State enterprise was the leakage of chemicals on November 18, which caused noxious fumes which  fell several security guards, who had to be taken for medical treatment. Hyatali is of the view that the accidents at Petrotrin are tied to costs. “Maybe the company has found that the costs are too high, but what they fail to realise is that in the long run, it will save lives,” Hyatali added.

He said that two months ago, operations at the fabricating and welding yard at the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery had to be shutdown after it was deemed by the Union to be too hazardous. It was found, he said, that there was too much domestic and industrial rubbish as well as tripping hazards and fire hazards. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA)  has also voiced its concern over the recent accidents. Alicia Charles, EMA, Corporate communications, said the accidents at Petrotrin stemmed from having to run an aging plant. “This is especially true of older facilities that have been in existence for decades and for facilities that are not properly maintained,” Charles said. She said pressure must be put on operators of industrial facilities to ensure that their plants are properly maintained.

Here is a chronology of mishaps at Petrotrin over the past year

A litany of woe

January 26 -  
Petrotrin pipeline spills oil at Union Village, Guapo with approximately 40 barrels of oil coating the surrounding environment. The spill was  believed to caused by leaks from aging pipelines. An investigation is launched while residents complain of damage and losses caused.

April 20 -
A white powdery substance caused when the Fluid Catalytic Cracking
Unit (FFCU) explodes into the air from a Petrotrin oil refinery and blankets the surrounding area.

June 2 -
Petrotrin oil well explodes in Palo Seco.

June 30 -
Gallons of oil spill at Forest Reserve at Petrotrin Blocks WD 13 and WD 14.

July 20 -
Leak causes eight- inch gas line closure at Erin Road near Papourie Road, Barrackpore.

August 12 -
Four workers are warded at hospital after being felled by noxious fumes while carrying out respective duties at a gasoline storage tank at the Pointe-a-Pierre Petrotrin oil refinery.

August 25 -
12 workers burnt and injured as a Trinmar offshore gas line explodes. Trinmar worker Kenneth Merrique dies on September 18, after succumbing to injuries suffered.

September 8 -
Fire at Petrotrin Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery - Number Four Vacuum Distillation Unit.

September 26 -
Crude oil leaks into the surrounding area after cracks occur on an aging pipeline situated at Cocoyea Village, South Trinidad.

September 27 -
Linda Austin, a resident of Cocoyea Village, South Trinidad claims noxious fumes caused by oil which spilled from leaks at an aged pipeline situated at the back of her house. She said the fumes caused nausea and vomiting among her children aged between four and eight.

September 30 -
Four workers burnt when vapour ignites suddenly during grinding work to prepare a 30-inch line for Tank Ten, in a tank farm at Pointe-a-Pierre.

October 4 - 
Petrotrin probes the sinking of a company vessel at sea. No injuries reported

October 6 -
Thick oil and gas fumes cause over 100 workers to abandon an offshore platform.

November 13 -
Residents of Marabella report being covered by “dirty  snow” which turns out to be effluent from the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FFCU) after a breakdown at Petrotrins refinery. Some residents claim having to go to the doctor after experiencing nausea and vomiting. The OWTU also claimed this dust was cancer causing, despite assurancesfrom the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) that this was not so.

November 18 -
Trinmar operations come to a halt after heavy, noxious fumes overwhelm security guards after chemical seeps into a drain at a Petrotrin tank farm in Point Fortin. The guards had to be taken for medical treatment.