The fire at the Ufa oil refinery in the Russian city of Ufa was extinguished after burning for hours overnight, Russian authorities said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
The refinery, owned by Bashneft, located about 1,500 km east of the Ukrainian border, has a capacity of 168,000 barrels per day. According to Russian media, its oil supplies come mainly from the surrounding regions of Bashkortostan and Western Siberia.
“The fire is related to technical problems“, the regional Emergencies Ministry said on Telegram, citing initial data.
The fire broke out near a furnace, according to the same source.
Several Russian channels on Telegram, including SHOT Telegram, said that there had been an explosion at the refinery before the fire, but Reuters notes that it was unable to independently verify these reports. There were no reports of a drone attack overnight in Bashkortostan, located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.
The press service of “Bashneft“ told the “Interfax“ news agency that the fire had not affected the main production facilities. Earlier, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that no excess of the permissible amount of harmful substances in the air near the refinery was recorded.
About 100 firefighters helped fight the fire, which was finally extinguished around 8 a.m.