Fire erupts at Iran’s second-largest refinery

July 10, 2023
Privately held Aftab Oil Refining Co. has extinguished a fire at its more than 300,000-b/d refinery at Bandar Abbas in Persian Gulf Industrial City, Hormozgan Province, Iran.

Privately held Aftab Oil Refining Co. has extinguished a fire at its more than 300,000-b/d refinery at Bandar Abbas in Persian Gulf Industrial City, Hormozgan Province, Iran.

The fire, which broke out in the refinery’s storage tanks during the early afternoon local time on July 10, was completely extinguished 3 hours later, according to a report from the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Details regarding the impact to operations at the refinery—the second largest of Iran’s 11 refineries—were not disclosed.

Citing Hormozgan provincial authorities, IRNA said an investigation into the cause of the incident is under way.

Located on 140 acres in southern Iran, the Bandar Abbas refinery—which processes crude oil and condensate feedstock it receives from South Pars field—was slated to reach a production capacity for finished products of 33,000 b/d during first-half 2023 following completion of unidentified expansion works, Aftab said an Oct. 24, 2022, release. 

About the Author

Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor

Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.