Fire hits Israeli petrochemical plant

Gadiv Petrochemicals Industries Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil Refineries Ltd. (Bazan), currently is evaluating impacts from a fire that broke out on Mar. 7 in one of the xylene furnaces at the plant, which lies in Bazan’s 180,000-b/d refining complex in the Haifa Bay area of northern Israel along the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Early indications show the fire apparently started as a result of a puncture in a xylene tube in the combustion section of the furnace, which produces aromatics and solvents, according to Bazan.

The fire, which was quickly extinguished by company employees after isolating the oven, caused no reported injuries or damages to the environment, Bazan said.

While economic impacts of the incident still are under evaluation, Bazan anticipates Gadiv will resume normal operations this week at most of the plant’s sectors and that there will be no significant impact on fulfilling existing supply obligations to its customers, according to the company.