Fire breaks out in bitumen tank at India’s Visakhapatnam refinery

A tank at the Residue Upgradation Facility, commissioned in January at the state-owned HPCL’s 15-million-tonne Visakh Refinery, caught fire. The blaze was brought under control within an hour, becoming the latest accident at an Indian refinery this year.

A fire broke out on Monday evening at the Visakh Refinery, operated by state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), in the port city of Visakhapatnam in the eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Deccan Chronicle reported that flames rose at around 22:15 local time (19:45 Türkiye time). Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said there were no fatalities and that the flames were confined to a single tank.

The fire started in a tank at the refinery’s Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF), which was commissioned in January this year. NDTV and local police said the tank contained sulfurous bitumen, while Times of India referred to a tank storing an intermediate product used in asphalt production. HPCL has not officially disclosed which tank was affected.

Refinery crews contained the fire within an hour

Malkapuram Police Inspector Prakash Rao said the refinery’s own firefighting teams brought the flames under control within an hour. Deputy Inspector of Factories V. Suresh said five HPCL fire engines were sent to the site, while Regional Fire Officer Niranjan Reddy said foam was used to tackle the fire at two points. Power was cut to the affected section, and workers were evacuated to safe areas.

District administrative official Dileep Chakravarthy told ANI that the fire had been completely extinguished and that an industrial safety investigation would be opened at the facility. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Local residents said they heard an explosion, while HPCL sources said a tank explosion was unlikely. Initial information indicated that an overhead power line may have triggered the flames.

Flames rising from facilities at the Visakh Refinery

Facility’s capacity raised to 15 million tonnes

Established by Caltex in 1957 and incorporated into HPCL in 1978, the Visakh Refinery reached an annual processing capacity of 15 million tonnes through a modernization project. The company’s quarterly data show that the facility processed 3.6 million tonnes of crude oil between July and September, operating at 95% capacity. The 3.55-million-tonne RUF, where the fire broke out, houses the world’s first LC-Max unit and converts approximately 93% of heavy residues into valuable fuels.

The incident adds to the accidents at Indian refineries this year. A fire at HPCL’s Pachpadra refinery in Rajasthan on April 20 forced the postponement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration ceremony, while two workers were killed in an explosion at the MRPL refinery in Mangaluru on September 30. Energy data company Kpler said India imported crude oil at a record rate of approximately 5.6 million barrels per day in October.

HPCL’s official statement on the impact on production is awaited. Company sources said the damage would be assessed on Tuesday.

Video: Social media / ConflictTR · Photos: Deccan Chronicle, NewsX

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Fire breaks out in bitumen tank at India’s Visakhapatnam refinery