‘Event’ affects Venezuela refinery

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA said on Saturday an “operational event,” which witnesses said was an explosion, had affected a unit of the 640,000 barrel per day (bpd) Amuay refinery.

Three witnesses in the area of the refinery told Reuters on Saturday they felt and heard an explosion on Friday night.

“The explosion was felt from 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away,” one resident of the area told Reuters by telephone.

PDVSA said in a statement that “an operational event was registered that affected a furnace of the Hydrosulfurization Unit Number 4 of the Amuay refinery” at 9:21 p.m. on Friday night.”

The El Nacional newspaper on Saturday reported an explosion at Amuay and blackouts in the neighboring towns, citing witnesses in the area.

Reuters