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Natech Accident
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Type
Natech Accident
Date
1995/10/24
Natural Hazard
Lightning, Indonesia, 1995
Site
Pertamina Cilacap Refinery (Unit Pengolahan IV), Indonesia
Status
Published

Units Involved

  1. Name
    Oil tank
    Type
    Storage: Atmospheric storage tank
    Description
    This 38,800 m3 fixed-roof tank contained kerosene.
  2. Name
    6 Oil tanks
    Type
    Storage: Atmospheric storage tank
    Description
    These tanks contained naphtha and jet fuel.

Event Sequences

  1. Name
    Oil tank fire and explosion
    Unit
    1. Oil tank
    Substances Involved
    1. Name
      Kerosene
    Initiating EventCritical EventMajor Event
    Natural Hazard: Sparking
    The automatic gauging device of the tank was struck by lightning while the tank was in the process of being filled with kerosene at 43.5°C (T higher than the flash point).
    		-
    Explosion: Unknown
    The vapour cloud above the tank exploded, thereby destroying the roof.
    Contributing Factors
    Organisational: Isolation of equipment / system: Inadequate
    Incomplete equipotential bonding. The poor equipotentiality of the device resulted in sparks that triggered a fire.
    Event Sequence: Oil tanks fire
    The burning liquid spread the fire to six other tanks in the dike.
  2. Name
    Oil tanks fire
    Unit
    2. 6 Oil tanks
    Substances Involved
    1. Name
      Naphtha, jet fuel
    Initiating EventCritical EventMajor Event
    Event Sequence: Oil tank fire and explosion
    The burning liquid spread the fire to six other tanks in the dike.
    		-
    Fire: Pool fire
    Fire: Conflagration

Emergency Response

Response to the Natech Event
Depending on the information source, the fires burned for more than 19 hours to up to three days.

Consequences

On-site People At Risk
400
Off-site People At Risk
> 1000
Human Health Impacts
Thousands of inhabitants and four hundred Pertamina employees had to be evacuated for safety reasons.

No victims were reported.
Environmental Zones Impacted
Freshwater (e.g. pond, lake, stream)
Environmental Impacts
Some hundred water bodies were polluted.
Economic Impacts
Three tanks were destroyed and the refinery was shutdown for 1.5 years after the fires (restart in spring 1997), resulting in significant losses due to business interruption. During this period, oil, petrol, kerosene and diesel worth ca. 400,000 dollars daily had to be imported for the supply of Java.

Overall, the economic losses were estimated to be significant.
Built-up Areas Impacted
Residential areas (e.g. housings, hotels)
Community Disruption
Nearly 600 homes were damaged by the fires and explosion.

Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned on Equipment
It is essential that complete equipotential bonding is achieved to protect hazardous structures from lightning strikes.
ID: 4, Created: Serkan GIRGIN, 2010-12-09 16:14:40 – Last Updated: Amos NECCI, 2021-01-05 13:12:09

Attachments

NoDescriptionFile Size
1.ARIA 8183 537.96KB
2.Lightning protection of oil and gas industrial plants 880.81KB
3.Tank fires 660.54KB
Last update: 2024/04/17 | Top