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Spectacular Oil Tank Fire in Matanzas, CUBA ... Caused by lightning ??? 4

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MJCronin

MJCronin

Mechanical
Apr 9, 2001
5,087
Can we talk about BLEVE, ????

A BLEVE is a Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion a deadly and unpredicatble element in some storage tank fires.

Wikipedia tells us: (
A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion ... is an explosion caused by the rupture of a vessel containing a pressurized liquid that has reached temperature above its boiling point. Because the boiling point of a liquid rises with pressure, the contents of the pressurized vessel can remain liquid as long as the vessel is intact. If the vessel's integrity is compromised, the loss of pressure and dropping boiling point can cause the liquid to rapidly convert to a gas and expand rapidly. If the gas is combustible, as is the case with hydrocarbons and alcohols, further damage can be caused by an ensuing fire.

Can we talk about the crucial importance of NEC compliant tank grounding systems ?

.... and finally, can we talk about the MASSIVE COSTS for this particular accident, with today's expensive oil ?




MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer
 
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Personally, I think that a disabled Lightning Protection System (LPS)is the first place to investigate

.... I believe that CUBAN thieves stealing copper grounding cable with wire cutters is a probable cause

It is 9:30 am EST here .... Is the fire still burning ? .... How many more days/weeks will it burn ???

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Information update... According to the LA Times.... a few hours ago ....

21 hours ago —
It is understood that this oil reserve base has a total of 8 crude oil storage tanks, each crude oil storage tank volume of 50,000 cubic meters...


If that is correct ...That's 13.2 million gallons .... each !!! ..... and the second tank has buckled !!!!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bloomberg news update: Emergency Ship Attempt to offload oil from burning facility !!!


"The fire at the Matanzas industrial complex that began Friday night after a lightning strike has left at least 122 injured, 17 missing and over 4,000 evacuees, the presidency and state-run media reported. On Sunday, Health Minister Jose Angel Portal said a body recovered the previous day belonged to a Cienfuegos firefighter......The fire has affected two storage tanks, one containing 26,000 cubic meters of petroleum and another containing some 50,000 cubic meters of fuel oil, according to the provincial government of Matanzas. Nestor Perez, director at state-run oil company Union Cuba-Petroleo, known as Cupet, said as of 2:00 am Sunday 520 cubic meters of fuel oil had been extracted from one of the tanks and that they were expecting the arrival of a ship to continue the extraction. "



___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NPR update ... from a few hours ago ....


"Cuba's Health Ministry reported that 121 people were injured with five of them in critical condition. The Presidency of the Republic said the 17 people missing were "firefighters who were in the nearest area trying to prevent the spread." ....Later Saturday, the Health Ministry said in a statement that a body had been found and officials were trying to identify it."

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer
 
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#3 is on fire now. 13:20 GMT
It has been reported that the first tank was 50% full when a lightening strike overwhelmed the grounding system. Efforts to keep the adjacent tanks cool failed.

Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."
 
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If indeed that first 50% full tank contained gasoline and not fuel oil, that would actually explain to me why the flames were as high as they were. If the first one was the fuel oil tank then the gasoline tank could well have exploded once the venting system couldn't cope anymore with boiling gasoline.

I can't find any details of the tanks so can't see if they were just domed tanks or actually had internal floating roofs. But if you don't have adequate cooling going on then the tank is going to go when it's that close to a large pool fire. I'm sure I saw photos of people just sitting next to a jet hydrant, but maybe they were waiting for someone to bring them more foam. A report /I saw said the original tank fire was now out, but no 2 was still burning.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
 
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All Spanish news articles only mentioned oil for power generation for the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, That's 1km away and has reserves for 48hr of operation.
One article noted tanks of "steel and aluminum construction".

It seems that hr 49 is going to be a big problem.

Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."
 
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Third tank collapse ....Now humanitarian disaster still unfolding !!!... two hours ago ...

Third oil storage tank collapses in Cuba terminal following fire, spill -governor--- Reuters

August 8, 2022
2:27 PM EDT
Last Updated 2 hours ago

"Sabines compared the situation to an "Olympic torch" going from one tank to the next, turning each into a "caldron" and now encompassing the area covering three tanks and with flames and billowing black smoke making tackling the situation "complicated".

The Communist-run and heavily U.S. sanctioned country is all but bankrupt and blackouts, gas and other shortages already had created a tense situation with scattered local protests following last Summers historic unrest in July.

Residents expressed fear that the crisis will worsen as the hottest months of the year bear down.

"Oh my God, no lights and no gas, that is what this means," Havana resident Pia Ferrer exclaimed in an upscale neighborhood of Havana."



"Firefighters had sprayed water on the remaining tanks over the weekend to cool them and try to stop the fire from spreading. A fourth tank is threatened, but has yet to catch fire.

The governments of Mexico and Venezuela have sent special teams to help extinguish the fire, with water cannons, planes and helicopters fighting the fire from several directions, as military constructions specialists erected barriers to contain oil spills.....

The blaze at the Matanzas Supertanker Base in Matanzas city prompted officials to evacuate more than 4,900 people, most of them from the nearby Dubrocq neighborhood."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wall St Journal ... Massive Fire Spreads at Cuba’s Main Oil Terminal After Tank Explosion
Fuel spilled after a fuel tank’s explosion led to third tank catching fire, intensifying pressure on Cuba’s electricity grid


000000001huiouiogyuguvcuba_oil_fire_twml6l_ys1ruk.jpg


MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer
 
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[URL unfurl="true" said:
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/09/1116560066/cuba-oil-storage-fire-energy-crisis-matanzas[/URL]]A raging fire at a Cuban oil facility worsens the island's energy crisis, August 9, 20222:42 PM ET; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flames engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba on Tuesday...
Click to expand...

[URL unfurl="true" said:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-still-struggling-with-oil-depot-fire-worst-islands-history-2022-08-09/[/URL]]Cuba brings oil depot fire under control, worst in island's history; Reuters; August 9, 2022, 5:25 PM EDT
Click to expand...

Regarding the other thread with the strange title
bot-response-gfy-bot_klkkiz.gif
 
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10 August 2022 10:25 GMT

Firefighters on Tuesday finally overcame what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba's history that over four days destroyed more than 40% of the nation’s main fuel storage facility and caused massive blackouts across the island.

Reuters reported witnesses as saying the raging flames that destroyed four of the eight tanks of the Matanzas Supertanker port had died down and the towering plumes of thick black smoke streaming from the area were now mostly grey. As of Monday morning, three of the eight tanks had actually collapsed.

The fire, initially caused by a lightning strike on Friday 5 August, killed one firefighter and injured more than 100 other people — five remain in a critical condition — while at least another 14 firefighters have been reported as missing. A second fire broke out on Saturday.


MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer
 
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Iran was involved in firefighting Link

Venezuela to assist Cuba with reconstruction Link

Cuba Asks US For Technical Help to Clean Up Oil Depot After Fire; August 26, 2022 11:23 PM VOA News

VOA News said:
Cuba has asked the United States for technical help in restoring a major oil storage plant after a massive fire at the facility, killing 16 people.

Cuba’s foreign ministry said Friday that experts from Cuba and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met online Wednesday to talk about exploring "possible ways of cooperation to rehabilitate the worst-affected areas" of the plant in Cuba’s western port of Matanzas.

The foreign ministry described the meeting as a “professional and fruitful exchange” and said the Cuban delegation asked about "the most innovative techniques and procedures" used by the EPA as well as oil companies to clean up such disasters.
Click to expand...

Looks like while the fire is out, the story will play on for a while longer.
 
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US EPA? Looks like they're trying to figure out how to get paid for this.
 
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I think some helpful free advice from the good ole USA is very appropriate.

A whole lot of free work and supplies might not be.



spsalso
 
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I should have added this link to Joe Blogs comment on geopolitics.
Cuba may not have enough currency reserved to purchase essentials (like rebuilding the only supertanker port in Cuba).

A longer piece on the economic environment surrounding the port fire.
Joe Blogs on CUBA on Brink of COLLAPSE & Forced to Close SUPERTANKER Port. VENEZUELA & RUSSIA Send Help; Aug 22, 2022

Asking the US for help sounds a bit desperate. Disclaimer - I am an engineer not an economist, your mileage may varry.
 
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I'm surprised that China hasn't stepped up to offer them a hand. [ponder]

So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik
 
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