Fire erupts at Kuwait oil refinery, injuries reported

Firefighters working to extinguish the blaze in the refinery’s treatment unit.

A fire has erupted at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery with the state-owned oil company reporting a number of injuries, including smoke inhalation.

Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said that Monday’s blaze at the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery along Kuwait’s Persian Gulf coastline north of its border with Saudi Arabia did not affect its electrical supply or oil exports.

The refinery was built to handle 25,000 barrels of oil a day to supply Kuwait’s domestic market primarily with petrol and diesel and recently underwent an expansion to reduce its emissions and boost capacity to 346,000 barrels a day.