A fire that began on Sunday night (2) at the Ufimsky oil refinery, one of the largest in Russia, occurred due to technical problems and has been extinguished, the Russian Emergency Ministry said, adding that the refinery continued operations.
It was not clear if the production was interrupted at some point because of the fire. Bashneft’s press service told Interfax that the fire did not affect the main production facilities.
Bashneft’s property refinery, which is about 1,500 km east of the Ukraine border, has a capacity of 168,000 barrels a day, showing LSEG data, and their oil supply comes mainly from neighboring Bashkiria and Western Siberia.
“The fire is related to technical problems” and started near a furnace, the region’s emergency ministry said in the Telegram messaging app, citing initial discoveries.
Bashkostan leader Radiy Khabirov said no trace of drones was found, according to the Interfax news agency, and that production continued normally, he said.
A video posted on social networks and verified by Reuters showed that a oil refinery in UFA, Bashkostan’s largest city, was on fire. It was not possible to immediately check the filming date.
According to local industry sources and social networks, a Diesel Hydrotration Unit L-24/7 was damaged in the incident. The extent of the damage was not determined.
The sources also did not say if the plant was interrupted.
Previously, the Emergency Ministry said no harmful substance exceeding insecure levels was recorded in the air near the refinery.
About 100 firefighters helped combat the fire, which was finally erased around 8am (local time), said Interfax.
Several Russian channels on Telegram, including Shot Telegram, said the fire occurred after an explosion at the refinery, but Reuters could not verify the reports independently.
There were no reports during the night of a drone attack in Bashkiria, a press between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.
There were no immediate comments from Ukraine. Their forces have a target for the Russian energy infrastructure to try to interrupt Russia’s economy and its ability to finance war in Ukraine.
