By Mariela Nava and Mircely Guanipa
MARACAIBO, May 15 (Reuters) – A fire hit a gas processing facility in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo on Friday, operated by state oil company PDVSA, according to five sources and videos seen by Reuters, which prompted workers to try to extinguish it.
Fires and power outages are frequent at PDVSA’s aging oil and gas facilities, especially in the country’s western region, as a longstanding lack of foreign investment and U.S. sanctions have prevented the company from conducting timely maintenance.
At least two workers were reported injured while others jumped into the water, according to the sources and videos, which showed workers using a water hose to control tall flames emerging from the plant.
PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The fire could have been caused by a pipeline rupture at PDVSA’s Lamargas compression plant in Lake Maracaibo’s Block 5, among Venezuela’s oldest production regions, one of the sources said.
(Reporting by Mariela Nava, Mircely Guanipa and Deisy Buitrago; Editing by Marianna Parraga, Rod Nickel)
