Blast At Bangkok Oil Refinery Triggers Huge Blaze

[webfact]

Blast at Bangkok oil refinery triggers huge blaze

Bangkok, July 4, 2012 (AFP) - An explosion at an oil refinery in an industrial area of Bangkok sparked a massive fire early Wednesday, sending a thick column of smoke into the air that could be seen across the Thai capital.

No one appeared to have been injured in the blaze, which began after a loud blast at around 7.30 am local time (0030 GMT), according to a spokeswoman for the refinery firm.

"We are investigating the cause of fire and will inform the public immediately," said Chaveewan Kiatchokchaikul of Bangchak Petroleum, who said the fire had been brought under control.

Emergency services deployed to the scene said there had been no casualties reported so far.

"There is not much oil so people should not panic," said a local Bangkok fire fighter on Thai television.

The Bangchak oil refinery, which employs around 600 people, is located in a large industrial estate in a sprawling suburb.

It is among the country's biggest refineries and 120,000 barrels of oil are processed at the site every day, a company official told AFP.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-07-04

Update @ 10:54: Air quality examined following fire accident at Bangchak Petroleum refinery; prepare immediate evacuation if sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbon pose health risk

-- TNA 2012-07-04

[webfact]

Explosion and fire hit Bangchak Petroleum refinery

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A blast broke out at an oil refinery operated by Bangchak Petroleum Pcl in Sukhumvit Soi 64 at about 7am on Wednesday.

Witnesses said they heard an explosion before the fire broke out.

Initial report said the explosion and the blast was the result of leaking at an oil pipeline. A SMS from Bangchak Petroleum said the fire is under control at 8.28am.

A Nation Channel reporter reported that the blast was about 500 meters from the scene and no evacuation was ordered. Traffic there is worsening.

-- The Nation 2012-07-04

[webfact]

Early Wed. fire at Bangchak Petroleum oil refinery at Sukhumvit 64 is now under control; no evacuation of residents; nearby school closed /The Nation

Bangchak Petroleum Pcl shut its 125,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Bangkok after a fire on Wednesday /REUTERS

[webfact]

RT @191Thailand: Firefighters at the scene of the fire at the Bang Chaak oil refinery http://bit.ly/Llh1kg - TR @faajung_Galz

[webfact]

ACCIDENT

Fire at Bangchak's oil refinery brought under control

The Nation

Photo: Siriporn Sangobpai

BANGKOK: -- Blaze at Bangchak oil refinery in Soi Sukhumvit 64 which is reportedly caused by leaking at an oil pipeline is brought under control and there was no reports of injury.

Traffic at the entrance of Soi Sukhumvit 64 is still closed. Bangchak company said in its sms message that its staffs managed to control the fire that broke out at about 7am. The company shut the whole unit for investigation and for the sake of safety.

Witnesses said they heard the explosion before the fire broke out. The explosion shook the area. The scene of the blast was far from living quarters so no evacuation was issued.

The fire sent a thick column of smoke into the air that could be seen across the Thai capital.

Initial investigation said that the blaze was caused by leaking at a gasohol pipeline, not at an oil tank as earlier feared.

-- The Nation 2012-07-04

[laurentbkk]

Well done firemen .... the worse has been avoided .

[webfact]

Fire at Bangkok's Bangchak refinery; blaze under control

BANGKOK, July 4 --Fire broke out at the Bangchak refinery complex in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district but the blaze is now under control and fire officials and refinery engineers are investigating to find the cause of the accident.

The fire erupted at about 7.20am at the Bangchak Petroleum refinery as well as oil distribution centre, between the Chao Phraya River and Sukhumvit Road Soi 64. At 8am the company announced that the fire was under control and an investigation was underway.

Witnesses heard an explosion which shook the area around the refinery, before the fire belched out thick black smoke across the sky.

Department of Energy Business Director General Somnuk Bomrungsalee said that the initial investigation showed that the accident happened at fractionating tower number one.

A boiler there may have leaked, he said, similar to the incident that caused the fire at the refinery complex on Jan 14, 2011, he said.

The fire has not spread to the oil depot, he said, and the company is confident that the blaze would not spread to neighbouring communities or otherwise become worse. It will not affect Thailand’s oil reserves, he said.

No casualties were reported.

The Bangchak refinery complex has a maximum crude processing capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-07-04

[saltandpepper]

Well done firemen .... the worse has been avoided .

Seconded.....

[webfact]

Air quality examined following fire accident at Bangchak Petroleum refinery; prepare immediate evacuation if sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbon pose health risk /MCOT

Source: http://www.mcot.net/cfcustom/cache_page/384444.html

[webfact]

RT @RichardBarrow: Soldiers on standby at the Bangchak refinery for at at least another 2 hours http://bit.ly/R83ZVP - TR @Pat_ThaiPBS

[Pseudolus]

Good work fire team.

However, 2 explosions there in 18 months? This must be a major point of concern for the whole of Bangkok because one accident like this in the life of a facility like Bangchek is really not acceptable; 2 in 18 months shows there are endemic problems there. No way I would want to live in that vicinity until a western HSE engineering firm has been through it and all the recommendations have been up taken, and passed as up to scratch by an independent (non local) audit. Wouldn't trust anything else in this country.

[Crushdepth]

Time to build a nuclear power plant. Not.

[pointoffew]

Such news breaks four and a half hours after the incident?

And how should I read this "the blast was about 500 meters from the scene"?!

[freedom4life]

Good work fire team.

However, 2 explosions there in 18 months? This must be a major point of concern for the whole of Bangkok because one accident like this in the life of a facility like Bangchek is really not acceptable; 2 in 18 months shows there are endemic problems there. No way I would want to live in that vicinity until a western HSE engineering firm has been through it and all the recommendations have been up taken, and passed as up to scratch by an independent (non local) audit. Wouldn't trust anything else in this country.

I agree. from murders to exlposions and electrical-causing-fatalities...how inept can one possibly become? Time to clean-up this country, but fast. It seems that westerners have to do everything, just to set things at a decent level safety and/or operation.

[BuffaloRescue]

Time to build a nuclear power plant. Not.

HAHAHAHHAHAHA

A Thai nuke plant..... run for the ***ing hills!

Run by cheap burmese labourers paid $1 a day. No farang nuculear scientists allowed to be employed for the sake of saving face

Edited July 4, 2012 by BuffaloRescue

[peterdk]

Good work fire team.

However, 2 explosions there in 18 months? This must be a major point of concern for the whole of Bangkok because one accident like this in the life of a facility like Bangchek is really not acceptable; 2 in 18 months shows there are endemic problems there. No way I would want to live in that vicinity until a western HSE engineering firm has been through it and all the recommendations have been up taken, and passed as up to scratch by an independent (non local) audit. Wouldn't trust anything else in this country.

My thoughts exactly.

Even after they had a fire 18 months ago, they still can't be arsed to check for leaks ?

The whole thing should be run like an oil rig, where parts are checked on a daily / weekly rotation.

And replaced just on the suspicion it might fail some time into the future.

Miracle it has worked so long without more incidents.....

[johnlandy]

Well done firemen .... the worse has been avoided .

A bit early to hand out the praise "WHAT CAUSED THE EVENT IN THE FIRST PLACE"? mismanagement, unsafe work practices, lack of establishe and recognised procedures, ignoring procedures,

non-adherence to procedures the choice is infifnite.

It's one thing to put a bit of a fire out and another to prevent it occurring.

Moreover having a 125K bpd oil refinery in such a location is sheer lunacy and inviting disaster.

[rotary]

They need to move this refinery outside Bkk and tighten up on safety

[Guderian]

Queues at the fuel stations soon?

[stefb1964]

Those men are real heroes. Risking life and limbs for us. Keep up the good work !

[drdoom6996]

They need to move this refinery outside Bkk and tighten up on safety

If they did that properly it would be closed for months, maybe even years.

[frimu]

dam_n! I live near it!

Good work fire team.

However, 2 explosions there in 18 months? This must be a major point of concern for the whole of Bangkok because one accident like this in the life of a facility like Bangchek is really not acceptable; 2 in 18 months shows there are endemic problems there. No way I would want to live in that vicinity until a western HSE engineering firm has been through it and all the recommendations have been up taken, and passed as up to scratch by an independent (non local) audit. Wouldn't trust anything else in this country.

[weegee]

Good work fire team.

However, 2 explosions there in 18 months? This must be a major point of concern for the whole of Bangkok because one accident like this in the life of a facility like Bangchek is really not acceptable; 2 in 18 months shows there are endemic problems there. No way I would want to live in that vicinity until a western HSE engineering firm has been through it and all the recommendations have been up taken, and passed as up to scratch by an independent (non local) audit. Wouldn't trust anything else in this country.

I have been waiting for this to happen on the offshore platforms(which will happen for sure)...How will they bring that under control???? Some may remember ALPHA Platform in the north sea....it's only a matter of time.

[BobTH]

I could see the smoke clearly from my apartment on Rama 4 Road in Lumpini. I was wondering what had happened, and was glad to get this information from the Thai Visa site. I am a retired corrosion subject matter expert and worked for the largest natural gas company in North America 37 years. I would say before the people on this board start automatically trowing stones please wait for the facts to come out. And if you are by chance American you should know that even in the USA refinery fires are not uncommon. I can remember many of them thoughout the years. It is a dangerous business that we all depend on in one way or another. Petroleum leaks can be caused by many things, from human error to material stress fractures, general corrosion and even internal bacterial induced corrosion attacks. I am curious to the cause and plan to keep an eye on this story hoping to learn more. I am just glad that the Bangkok Fire Department was able to contain the fire, believe me these types of fires are difficult to control, I know from experience. Well done BFD.

Edited July 4, 2012 by BobTH

[webfact]

No evacuation order after Bangkok refinery fire

BANGKOK, July 4 – No evacuation order has been issued after the fire at the Bangchak refinery on Wednesday morning, but nearby schools have been closed and officials are examining the air quality.

Local authorities have alerted about 100 families in five nearby communities around the oil refinery about the situation. Residents have been told to be prepared for evacuation if needed, said Silapasuay Raweesangsoon, director of the Phra Khanong district office.

Emergency workers brought the fire under control, but smoke and fumes still envelop the area. The district sent rescue workers and four more fire engines to the site, but no casualties have been reported. Smoke has lessened but firefighters keep hosing water on the overheated complex of piping.

A school less than one kilometre from the refinery closed, sending its 2,600 students home, said Thawin Srijaingam, director of Phra Khanong Phitthayalai School.

Regarding air quality around the area, Dr Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, director of the Department of the Disease Control said that officials are inspecting the air quality and if it is found to be hazardous and local residents will be told to evacuate. So far, there has been no report of any death in the incident.

Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai, deputy director of the department of the disease control, asked the public not to panic but to follow the advice of the authorities.

Burning oil caused carbon dioxide CO2 to spread in the air, he said. People who suffered eye and nose irritation are advised to cover their noses with wet cloths and leave the area and wash their eyes with clean water and wear sunglasses.

Energy Minister Pongsawat Svasti said that he has ordered a 30-day closure of Bangchak Petroleum refinery to investigate the cause of the fire. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-07-04

[sportsman69]

RT @191Thailand: Firefighters at the scene of the fire at the Bang Chaak oil refinery http://bit.ly/Llh1kg - TR @faajung_Galz

Good to see the fire fighters are properly attired. Work boots and Safety Hats, not flipflops and balaclavas.

Looks like a good job was done. Could have been quite a cook up.

Edited July 4, 2012 by sportsman69

[FarangKenStine]

Those men are real heroes. Risking life and limbs for us. Keep up the good work !

They aren't heroes. They are just doing their jobs. If they refused they would be fired.

[saltandpepper]

Those men are real heroes. Risking life and limbs for us. Keep up the good work !

They aren't heroes. They are just doing their jobs. If they refused they would be fired.

Don't you think that they need to have something special to do this job? Something that most of us don't have? Something that makes them a kind of....hero?

[Arkady]

In the early 90s there was a tragic toxic chemical accident in Klong Toey that caused death, lasting illness and deformity to many Klong Toey slum residents, not to mention homelessness and other hardships. The government resisted the subsequent calls by activists to compulsorily relocated dangerous chemicals businesses from around the Klong Toey Port where they no longer needed to be since the development of Laem Chabang Port on the grounds that it would be too costly for state oil refineries. Concerns of slum dwellers were of course disregarded.

20 years later, now this. What next!

[blueshark]

I could see the smoke clearly from my apartment on Rama 4 Road in Lumpini. I was wondering what had happened, and was glad to get this information from the Thai Visa site. I am a retired corrosion subject matter expert and worked for the largest natural gas company in North America 37 years. I would say before the people on this board start automatically trowing stones please wait for the facts to come out. And if you are by chance American you should know that even in the USA refinery fires are not uncommon. I can remember many of them thoughout the years. It is a dangerous business that we all depend on in one way or another. Petroleum leaks can be caused by many things, from human error to material stress fractures, general corrosion and even internal bacterial induced corrosion attacks. I am curious to the cause and plan to keep an eye on this story hoping to learn more. I am just glad that the Bangkok Fire Department was able to contain the fire, believe me these types of fires are difficult to control, I know from experience. Well done BFD.

Do you want a job?

I suggest you call the buggers down at oil fire central and demand they give you a job, with a pen paper and everything!!!!

But really come on this is thailand, health and safety is just a word to them. They have no idea how to actually do it.

5pm is whiskey and beer time thats when all the major decisions and strategic planning takes place.

ROTF LMAO

Edited July 4, 2012 by blueshark