By Sue-Ann Wayow
PARIA Fuel Trading Company knew almost exactly how much oil was drained from the pipeline located between berths five and six, which was much more than required for the works to be conducted on February 25, 2022.
Paria’s General Manager Mushtaq Mohammed is being asked to provide further explanation to the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) as it relates to the quantity of oil removed from Paria’s pipeline before that day when the accident happened.
Mohammed was the first witness to sit before the Commission when the CoE convened this year on January 4.
In his closing statements to the CoE on Friday, counsel to the commission Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, spoke at length about the number of barrels of oil removed as that contributed to the occurrence of the Delta-P situation.
During his submission, he pointed to information supplied by Mohammed to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) dated July, 20, 2022.
The line-clearing process began on January 18, 2022, and was completed around February 3, 2022.
The line clearing was to achieve a 30 feet ullage.
According to expert Zaid Khan of In-Corr Tech Ltd, LMCS would have needed to drain between 40 to 60 barrels to oil to achieve that ullage.
Instead, 1,252 barrels were removed in two phases.
According to OSHA’s information, OSHA queried of Paria, the volume of hydrocarbon removed before the installation of the subsea flip on flange 30-inch diameter as per the Method Statement.
Paria’s response was, “Given the configuration of the system, it is impossible to segregate and measure the displaced volume.”
Maharaj said based on Paria’s daily reports there were measurements being taken.
He said the daily records were contemporaneous and compiled in January and February of last year.
Lynch said even if Mohammed was not able at the time of OSHA’s query to give an exact figure, he could have given an estimate based on Paria’s records.
He regretted not putting that to Mohammed while he was in the witness box.
“It is perhaps a pity we didn’t put this to Mr Mohammed when he was here because it is something perhaps he ought to have explained,” chairman of the commission Jerome Lynch, KC, said.
The issue of the line clearing was a serious one and Lynch asked Paria’s senior counsel Gilbert Peterson if Mohammed could elaborate on his statements submitted to OSHA via writing to the Commission.
Peterson obliged.
“There may be a perfectly good explanation as to why he gave that answer. On its face it doesn’t seem to be entirely accurate to put it neutrally and so I would welcome any contribution, he might wish to make in relation to that,” Lynch said.
He assured that the contribution would be made public upon its receipt.
Lynch asked for that response to be submitted by January 20 and it will be published on the CoE’s website by January 23.
By January 30, anyone who wants to respond to that or make further submissions relating to that matter should do so by that date.
It has been concluded based on evidence provided that a cleared pipeline created the opportunity for the Delta-P situation that occurred when Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali, Jr, and Rishi Nagassar were sucked into the pipeline located at Berth #6.
Paria acknowledged its oversight
The issue of how monitoring the removal of oil content from the pipeline to Paria’s tank storage was also discussed with Peterson during his closing statements on Thursday.
Peterson acknowledged that there was an oversight of Paria as it related to the oil content being removed.
Lynch told Peterson, “For the future and for our purposes in making recommendations so as to avoid this ever happening again, it is clear isn’t it, it a) capable of being measured, the amount that is taken out of any line, b) capable of identifying the sort of quantity that is necessary to achieve the purpose being sought and 3) once you have made that measurement for somebody to be standing by that and saying to the people who are doing the blowing or pumping, “You are done, we have got enough, thank you very much and if it is not showing at there end, that that would cause an alarm to be rung as to what the position might be?”
Peterson responded, “Exactly sir… That sir is a correct procedure…That is a perfect recommendation going forward.”
He added, “When we are looking at the event, we are looking back at what happened on the 25th. In that correlation and the dedication at both points, I could see anybody at the other point raising an alarm. That seems to have not been the arrangement.”
