Fire breaks out at oil refinery pier in Venezuela, government says production unaffected

Fire breaks out at refinery pier in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela — A fire broke out at a Venezuelan oil refinery loading pier Saturday, forcing the evacuation of workers and ships from the area.

The blaze began in the morning while diesel was being loaded onto a ship for export, the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, said in a statement released by the Information Ministry.

It said Saturday night that the fire had been brought under control and the blaze did not affect fuel production at the Cardon refinery in western Falcon state. No injuries were reported.

The precise cause wasn’t clear, but the statement linked it to a flare while the ship was being loaded.

The Cardon refinery, one of two in the Paraguana complex, has five other piers.

On Wednesday, a fire blamed on lightning broke out on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, halting operations at a Venezuelan-owned fuel terminal.

Officials said Friday that blaze had died out after burning off the last of the available fuel.