KUWAIT, Nov 4: Kuwait shut down its 200,000 barrel-per-day Shuaiba oil refinery after a blast at the plant on Saturday, but there were no casualties, a spokesman at Kuwait National Petroleum Co said.
A fire was blazing at the 25,000-bpd residue, or heavy oil, processing unit in Shuaiba refinery, the country’s smallest, spokesman Mohammad al-Ajmi added.
“There was an explosion in one of the lines of the heavy oil unit and it resulted in a fire,” he told Reuters. “There are no casualties.”
Ajmi said fire fighters and emergency teams were still trying to extinguish the fire.
“The whole refinery is shut down and it is being evacuated according to the safety procedures,” he said.
Shuaiba refinery produces light, medium and heavy products, including gas, ordinary naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil and diesel. The majority of the refinery products are exported to world markets.
