Istanbul: A fire broke out at the TUPRAS oil refinery in Kocaeli province, northwestern Turkey, on Tuesday, resulting in injuries to 12 individuals, as reported by TUPRAS.
The fire occurred at 1:30 p.m. local time (10:30 GMT) during compressor maintenance work at the Izmit refinery. Initial reports indicated that all 12 injured personnel sustained minor injuries and have been taken to the hospital.
TUPRAS confirmed that the fire has been contained and the affected unit was safely shut down. They added that operations at the refinery are continuing as usual.
Local broadcaster NTV reported that an explosion occurred during a scheduled drill at the facility, although no specific details about the drill were provided.
Kocaeli Mayor Tahir Buyukakin stated, “There was a planned drill. An issue occurred during that drill. It was brought under control. The firefighting teams intervened, and there is no problem.”
After the explosion, TUPRAS shares fell by 3% and were temporarily suspended from trading on Borsa Istanbul, Turkey’s sole stock exchange, until a necessary special situation disclosure is released, according to NTV.
TUPRAS, which stands for Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation, plays a critical role in Turkey’s energy sector, operating four refineries with a combined annual crude oil processing capacity of 30 million tonnes, as reported by Xinhua news agency.