Several families have been forced to evacuate their homes after an oil well in Penal on southwest Trinidad began leaking at about 11 pm local time on Saturday 26 July 2014. Resident in the area have described being woken by a loud noise that sounded like and explosion, then seeing oil and gas spraying about 12 m into the air and raining down on rooftops and gardens, a situation which persisted for at several hours before operators Petrotrin were able to shut it off. A clean-up operation in the village went on for much of the following day.
Workers clearing up after an oil spill in Penal, Trinidad, on Sunday 27 July 2014. Dave Persad/Trinidad Express.
The Trinidad Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) has called for an investigation into management practices at Petrotrin following an series of similar incidents. Six workers were fired from the company following a leak in December, but the union claims the problems are caused by a systematic failure of management rather than the fault of ordinary workers.
The approximate location of the 26 July 2014 Trinidad oil leak. Google Maps.
See also...
Beaches in South Trinidad were closed by authorities after being covered by a thick layer of crude oil on 18 December 2013. Local fishermen have also been prevented from putting to sea by the event, putting livelihoods at risk, and residents have complained of nausea...
An oil and gas rig 95 km off the coast off Louisiana which has been burning for a day has begun to collapse into the Gulf of Mexico. The Walter Oil & Gas owned Hercules 265 jack-up rig (an oil rig that...
Two workers are feared dead after an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday 16 November 2012. The men, described...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.