Fire at Venezuela Oil Terminal Almost Extinguished

A huge fire that erupted on Tuesday at an oil tank in Venezuela's La Salina terminal operated by state company PDVSA is almost completely extinguished, Cabimas firefighters said on Wednesday.

The fire broke out during a storm early Tuesday at the facility used by the state oil company near Venezuela's western city of Cabimas to store and ship crude between domestic ports.

Large balls of fire left a plume of black smoke and released hot steam, leaving more than 21 employees and neighbors with minor injuries. Two explosions and the hot temperatures affected the tank's structure, according to videos seen by Reuters.

By Wednesday, the fire was 90% to 95% extinguished, according to the firefighters and PDVSA sources, leaving the area blackened and covered with large pools of foam.

PDVSA confirmed the incident on Wednesday at crude tank 75012 and said firefighters stopped the fire from extending to other deposits. The neighboring Bajo Grande oil-exporting terminal was not affected.

Fires and power outages are frequent at PDVSA's deteriorated infrastructure, often causing operations interruptions.

(Reuters - Reporting by Mariela Nava, Mircely Guanipa and Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Porter)