One Killed In Tank Explosion in Syria’s Banias Oil Refinery

By Staff, Agencies

A large explosion hit one of the production units of Syria’s Banias refinery near the Mediterranean coast during maintenance operations, Syria’s oil minister said on Thursday.

One worker was killed and an engineer was injured, Minister Ali Ghanem was quoted as saying on state television about the blast at Syria’s largest refinery.

It was not clear how extensive the damage was and if it affected the refinery, which has the capacity to process over 130,000 barrels per day of crude.

A report on state-owned Ikhbariyah television station earlier said the explosion took place during welding of one of the tanks at the refinery.

Banias along with Homs refinery, the only other refinery, cover a significant part of Syrian demand for diesel, fuel for heating, gasoline and other petroleum products, according to industry experts.