Marife Cuauro / Reuters
Fuel storage tanks are seen on fire at Amuay oil refinery in Punto Fijo in the Peninsula of Paraguana in Venezuela on Aug. 27. A fire burned for a third day in two fuel storage tanks at Venezuela's biggest refinery on Monday, putting in doubt plans to quickly restart the facility following an explosion that killed nearly 50 people.
Reuters
Fire is seen after an explosion at the Amuay oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Aug. 25. A large gas explosion shook Venezuela's biggest refinery, killing 19 people before dawn on Saturday. The blast was caused by a gas leak and damaged nearby homes in addition to the refinery complex.
Power faults, accidents and planned stoppages for maintenance have hit exports from South America's biggest crude producer and OPEC member.
-- Reported by NBC News staff and wire services
Reuters
Black smoke rises from oil containers as firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out at the Nasr Petroleum Company refinery in the Egyptian canal city of Suez April 17. Five people were killed and dozens injured while the cause of the blaze, which set off an explosion, was not immediately known, an official said.
Reuters
Soldiers stand guard as black smoke rises from oil containers as firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out at the Nasr Petroleum Company refinery in the Egyptian canal city of Suez on April 17. Five people were killed and dozens injured while the cause of the blaze, which set off an explosion, was not immediately known, an official said.
According to the AP: Shell oil co. flew journalists in a helicopter over a cleared area in the delta where locals ran makeshift refineries turning stolen crude oil tapped from pipelines into diesel and kerosene. The company blamed nearly all of its oil spills in 2009 on sabotage from thieves and militants. Environmentalists and community activists routinely blame Shell for the spills, pointing at the company's aging pipelines and poor cleanup efforts. Full story.
Sunday Alamba / AP
Oil is seen on the creek water's surface near an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland, outside Port Harcourt, in Nigeria's Delta region.
Sunday Alamba / AP
An illegal oil refinery is seen in Ogoniland, outside Port Harcourt, in Nigeria's Delta region.
Sunday Alamba / AP
Oil is seen on the creek water's surface near an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland, outside Port Harcourt, in Nigeria's Delta region.
Sunday Alamba / AP
Smoke rises from an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland, outside Port Harcourt, in Nigeria's Delta region.
Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters
A view of an illegal oil refinery is seen in Ogoniland outside Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Delta region March 24, 2011.Crude oil thieves -- known locally as "bunkerers" -- have been a fact of life for years in Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, puncturing pipelines and costing Nigeria and foreign oil firms millions of dollars in lost revenues each year.
Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters
Smoke rises from an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland outside Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Delta region.
Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters
Oil surfaces on water near an illegal oil refinery in Ogoniland outside Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Delta region March 24, 2011.
Here's an article that provides some context for the existence of "bush refineries."
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