The Cuban government announced Monday afternoon that it has been forced to disconnect one of its largest power plants, a thermoelectric plant with the capacity to produce up to 200 megawatts (MW), due to a fire in a fuel storage tank in the city of Matanzas.
Fire at supertanker in the port city of Matanzas, Cuba - PRESIDENCIA DE CUBA
The Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas thermoelectric power plant, which is located barely five kilometers from the fire at the supertanker port of Matanzas, has suffered a water shortage, reason why the Ministry of Energy and Mines has proceeded to shut it down.
"The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant in Matanzas has gone out of service due to water deficit. In this condition, it was necessary to increase the affectation to megawatts (MW) in Havana, and the reestablishment of this load will depend on the availability conditions of the National Electric System," the company Unión Eléctrica has announced in its Twitter account.
With the disconnection of this power plant, Cuba further aggravates the energy crisis that the Caribbean island is facing. Of the country's total generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW), only 1,824 are currently in operation, so an energy deficit of 1,176 megawatts is expected.
Cuba has been experiencing failures in its electricity supply for weeks, a situation that has worsened with the fire at the supertanker port of Matanzas, since the Cuban Executive is being forced to allocate many of its resources to extinguish the fire.
Last week a sporadic demonstration was held in Santiago de Cuba, one of the largest cities on the island, in protest against the continuous blackouts and the difficult economic situation facing the city.
Devastating fire may force Cuba to resort to floating oil storage
By Marianna Parraga - Yesterday
(Reuters) - An inferno at Cuba's largest oil storage facility has killed at least one firefighter, injured many more, and threatens to further swell the fuel import bill for the impoverished island nation that relies on foreign oil for everything from transportation to its power grid.
© Reuters/ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI
Cuban officials may need to scramble to set up expensive floating storage capacity to handle imports aimed at easing an acute fuel scarcity, sources and experts said on Monday.
Cuba relies on the 2.4-million-barrel Matanzas terminal, about 60 miles (130 km) from Havana, for most crude and heavy fuel imports and storage.
Matanzas is Cuba's only terminal with the ability to receive large tankers rated for 100,000 tonnes of deadweight. It also serves as a hub for domestic oil output to be blended for supplying the country's power plants, and for distributing imported fuel and crude to local refineries.
A large fire spreading since Friday is expected to boost shipping and import costs. Cuba was already struggling to afford fuel purchases, and global tanker freight rates have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Cuba now may have to seek long-term tanker charters for its storage needs or smaller vessels to carry imports. This logistical problem would be on top of recovery costs for the largest oil industry accident in Cuba decades.
In the first half of the year, Cuba imported 57,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel from its main ally, Venezuela, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. The imports arrive onboard shrinking fleets of old tankers owned by Cuba or Venezuela.
The Cuban government has been ramping up purchases from others, including Russia, to ease shortages that have led to long lines of drivers at stations and to power rationing. President Miguel Diaz Canel has complained about almost unaffordable fuel prices this year.
The Liberia-flagged tanker NS Laguna is scheduled to arrive in Matanzas next week carrying some 700,000 barrels of Russian oil, according to Eikon. The vessel follows a delivery of Russian fuel oil to the country in July.
If Matanzas' containment walls can stop the fire from spreading to port berths, the receiving portion of the facility could still be used for discharging imports and transferring the oil to smaller tankers for floating storage, experts said.
Once the fire is extinguished, Matanzas' berths could be used to make an "u" to fill other vessels, which does not represent a difficult technical challenge.
A switch to floating storage might lead Cuba, a heavily sanctioned country, to ask the U.S. government for relief from rules limiting the flow of vessels touching the island's ports, the experts said.
"The most likely scenario now is that authorities will let burn the product remaining in the tanks while keeping the area as cold as possible by using water," said Lino Carrillo, a Canada-based expert and former executive at Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.
Following a fire of the proportions seen in Cuba, recovery typically takes time and millions of dollars in repairs, according to analysts.
"Affected tanks will be useless after the fire and everything else connecting them within the containment walls," Carrillo added.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio)
By Marianna Parraga - Yesterday
© Reuters/ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI
(Reuters) - An inferno at Cuba's largest oil storage facility has killed at least one firefighter, injured many more, and threatens to further swell the fuel import bill for the impoverished island nation that relies on foreign oil for everything from transportation to its power grid.
© Reuters/ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI
Cuban officials may need to scramble to set up expensive floating storage capacity to handle imports aimed at easing an acute fuel scarcity, sources and experts said on Monday.
Cuba relies on the 2.4-million-barrel Matanzas terminal, about 60 miles (130 km) from Havana, for most crude and heavy fuel imports and storage.
Matanzas is Cuba's only terminal with the ability to receive large tankers rated for 100,000 tonnes of deadweight. It also serves as a hub for domestic oil output to be blended for supplying the country's power plants, and for distributing imported fuel and crude to local refineries.
A large fire spreading since Friday is expected to boost shipping and import costs. Cuba was already struggling to afford fuel purchases, and global tanker freight rates have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Cuba now may have to seek long-term tanker charters for its storage needs or smaller vessels to carry imports. This logistical problem would be on top of recovery costs for the largest oil industry accident in Cuba decades.
In the first half of the year, Cuba imported 57,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel from its main ally, Venezuela, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. The imports arrive onboard shrinking fleets of old tankers owned by Cuba or Venezuela.
The Cuban government has been ramping up purchases from others, including Russia, to ease shortages that have led to long lines of drivers at stations and to power rationing. President Miguel Diaz Canel has complained about almost unaffordable fuel prices this year.
The Liberia-flagged tanker NS Laguna is scheduled to arrive in Matanzas next week carrying some 700,000 barrels of Russian oil, according to Eikon. The vessel follows a delivery of Russian fuel oil to the country in July.
If Matanzas' containment walls can stop the fire from spreading to port berths, the receiving portion of the facility could still be used for discharging imports and transferring the oil to smaller tankers for floating storage, experts said.
Once the fire is extinguished, Matanzas' berths could be used to make an "u" to fill other vessels, which does not represent a difficult technical challenge.
A switch to floating storage might lead Cuba, a heavily sanctioned country, to ask the U.S. government for relief from rules limiting the flow of vessels touching the island's ports, the experts said.
"The most likely scenario now is that authorities will let burn the product remaining in the tanks while keeping the area as cold as possible by using water," said Lino Carrillo, a Canada-based expert and former executive at Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.
Following a fire of the proportions seen in Cuba, recovery typically takes time and millions of dollars in repairs, according to analysts.
"Affected tanks will be useless after the fire and everything else connecting them within the containment walls," Carrillo added.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio)
Firefighters, helicopters battle to contain Cuba fuel depot blaze
Flames rise from a massive fire at a fuel depot sparked by a lightning strike in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 8, 2022. (AFP)
AFP Published: 09 August ,2022
Helicopters and firefighters battled Tuesday to gain access to four tanks at a fuel depot in an industrial area west of the Cuban capital Havana that has been ablaze for days, hoping to deploy special foam to control the flames.
The fire, which started on Friday, has left one firefighter dead and 14 more missing.
From dawn, AFP reporters saw four military helicopters flying over the depot in Matanzas, an industrial city around 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Havana, dropping sea water in a bid to extinguish the blaze.
Four out of the eight tanks on site have already fallen victim to the flames, deputy fire chief Alexander Avalos Jorge said, and authorities are now trying to protect the other four.
“The firefighting teams continue to clear a path to the flames so the teams charged with applying the foam can get to the place,” said Matanzas governor Mario Sabines on Twitter.
Sabines added that the smoke from the fire had left visibility at a minimum and drones were being used to provide greater precision to operations.
Firefighters and specialists in fuel fires from Mexico and Venezuela have arrived in Cuba to help their local counterparts.
The fire broke out on Friday in the city of 140,000 people after lightning struck one of the tanks at the depot, which is of strategic importance for the island nation.
Each of the eight tanks can hold up to 50 million liters of fuel – three have collapsed while a fourth has been engulfed by flames.
Some 125 people injured by the blaze were taken to hospital with 22 remaining in care. Some 5,000 people have been evacuated from around the disaster zone, authorities reported.
Two firefighters previously reported as missing have been located among those receiving hospital treatment.
Watch: Major fire spreads at Cuba fuel storage facility hit by lightning, dozens hurt
Flames rise from a massive fire at a fuel depot sparked by a lightning strike in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 8, 2022. (AFP)
AFP Published: 09 August ,2022
Helicopters and firefighters battled Tuesday to gain access to four tanks at a fuel depot in an industrial area west of the Cuban capital Havana that has been ablaze for days, hoping to deploy special foam to control the flames.
The fire, which started on Friday, has left one firefighter dead and 14 more missing.
From dawn, AFP reporters saw four military helicopters flying over the depot in Matanzas, an industrial city around 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Havana, dropping sea water in a bid to extinguish the blaze.
Four out of the eight tanks on site have already fallen victim to the flames, deputy fire chief Alexander Avalos Jorge said, and authorities are now trying to protect the other four.
“The firefighting teams continue to clear a path to the flames so the teams charged with applying the foam can get to the place,” said Matanzas governor Mario Sabines on Twitter.
Sabines added that the smoke from the fire had left visibility at a minimum and drones were being used to provide greater precision to operations.
Firefighters and specialists in fuel fires from Mexico and Venezuela have arrived in Cuba to help their local counterparts.
The fire broke out on Friday in the city of 140,000 people after lightning struck one of the tanks at the depot, which is of strategic importance for the island nation.
Each of the eight tanks can hold up to 50 million liters of fuel – three have collapsed while a fourth has been engulfed by flames.
Some 125 people injured by the blaze were taken to hospital with 22 remaining in care. Some 5,000 people have been evacuated from around the disaster zone, authorities reported.
Two firefighters previously reported as missing have been located among those receiving hospital treatment.
Watch: Major fire spreads at Cuba fuel storage facility hit by lightning, dozens hurt
Third fuel tank collapses as helicopters battle Cuban blaze
Mon, August 8, 2022
Helicopters scrambled to contain a days-old blaze that felled a third tank at a fuel depot in Cuba on Monday as the search continued for 16 missing firefighters.
According an official update, the confirmed toll from the fire was one 60-year-old fireman dead, with 24 people hospitalized -- five of them in a critical condition.
More than 100 others were injured, most suffering burn wounds, and some 5,000 people have been evacuated from around the disaster zone, authorities reported.
The fire on the outskirts of Matanzas, a city of 140,000 people 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Havana, broke out late Friday after lightning struck one of eight tanks at the depot.
On Monday, the governor of the western Matanzas province said the blaze had spread to a third tank, which collapsed like two others before it did over the weekend.
"The third tank also collapsed, after the second spilled its fuel" as it caved in on Sunday, governor Mario Sabines told state TV.
He said the blaze area was "very big" and the containment effort "very complex."
Aircraft, firefighters and other specialists and equipment arrived in Cuba from Mexico and Venezuela on Sunday after the island nation asked for help from "friendly countries."
Sabines said the teams were preparing an operation to douse the flames with foam, "but this could take a while."
- Efforts 'intensifying' -
"Work is intensifying to combat the fire," the Cuban presidency said on Twitter, adding Monday would be a "decisive day" for the effort.
Family members of the missing firefighters met President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday at a hotel in Matanzas, where they were given access to doctors and psychologists.
"My son was doing his duty, he stepped forward," said the distraught mother of one 19-year-old fireman who was at the depot when the second fuel tank caught fire.
Health officials said they were monitoring the air quality, and advised at-risk people to wear masks in smoke-affected areas, and to avoid being out in the rain.
After the first tank caught fire late Friday, the blaze spread to a second tank by the early hours of Saturday.
The first two tanks collapsed overnight Sunday, causing three more reported injuries and spilling their oil.
According to the Cupet state oil company, the first tank had contained about 26,000 cubic meters of crude, about half its capacity.
The second contained 52,000 cubic meters of fuel oil. It was not immediately clear how full the third tank -- also with a capacity of 52,000 cubic meters -- was.
Firefighters had been battling to prevent the third tank from catching fire, dousing it with water to keep it cool, but ultimately to no avail.
The depot, built in the 1980s and modernized several times, supplies the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the communist nation.
The plant features five docks to receive ships of up to 180,000 tonnes, according to the Granma official newspaper.
The disaster comes at a time the island -- with an outdated energy network and persistent fuel shortages -- has faced mounting difficulties in meeting energy demands.
Since May, authorities have imposed energy blackouts of up to 12 hours a day in some regions -- sparking protests around the nation of 11 million people.
Mon, August 8, 2022
Helicopters scrambled to contain a days-old blaze that felled a third tank at a fuel depot in Cuba on Monday as the search continued for 16 missing firefighters.
According an official update, the confirmed toll from the fire was one 60-year-old fireman dead, with 24 people hospitalized -- five of them in a critical condition.
More than 100 others were injured, most suffering burn wounds, and some 5,000 people have been evacuated from around the disaster zone, authorities reported.
The fire on the outskirts of Matanzas, a city of 140,000 people 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Havana, broke out late Friday after lightning struck one of eight tanks at the depot.
On Monday, the governor of the western Matanzas province said the blaze had spread to a third tank, which collapsed like two others before it did over the weekend.
"The third tank also collapsed, after the second spilled its fuel" as it caved in on Sunday, governor Mario Sabines told state TV.
He said the blaze area was "very big" and the containment effort "very complex."
Aircraft, firefighters and other specialists and equipment arrived in Cuba from Mexico and Venezuela on Sunday after the island nation asked for help from "friendly countries."
Sabines said the teams were preparing an operation to douse the flames with foam, "but this could take a while."
- Efforts 'intensifying' -
"Work is intensifying to combat the fire," the Cuban presidency said on Twitter, adding Monday would be a "decisive day" for the effort.
Family members of the missing firefighters met President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday at a hotel in Matanzas, where they were given access to doctors and psychologists.
"My son was doing his duty, he stepped forward," said the distraught mother of one 19-year-old fireman who was at the depot when the second fuel tank caught fire.
Health officials said they were monitoring the air quality, and advised at-risk people to wear masks in smoke-affected areas, and to avoid being out in the rain.
After the first tank caught fire late Friday, the blaze spread to a second tank by the early hours of Saturday.
The first two tanks collapsed overnight Sunday, causing three more reported injuries and spilling their oil.
According to the Cupet state oil company, the first tank had contained about 26,000 cubic meters of crude, about half its capacity.
The second contained 52,000 cubic meters of fuel oil. It was not immediately clear how full the third tank -- also with a capacity of 52,000 cubic meters -- was.
Firefighters had been battling to prevent the third tank from catching fire, dousing it with water to keep it cool, but ultimately to no avail.
The depot, built in the 1980s and modernized several times, supplies the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the communist nation.
The plant features five docks to receive ships of up to 180,000 tonnes, according to the Granma official newspaper.
The disaster comes at a time the island -- with an outdated energy network and persistent fuel shortages -- has faced mounting difficulties in meeting energy demands.
Since May, authorities have imposed energy blackouts of up to 12 hours a day in some regions -- sparking protests around the nation of 11 million people.
No comments:
Post a Comment