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Firefighters work to keep the fire out at the Engen oil refinery. (Darren Stewart, Gallo Images)
- Parts of an Engen refinery have been closed to allow an investigation into a fire at the Durban plant.
- The fire broke out at the Wentworth refinery shortly after 7:00 a.m. Friday.
- No injuries have been reported, Engen has confirmed.
All of the refinery’s process units have been shut down at Engen’s Wentworth refinery, while the company investigates the cause of a massive fire that broke out Friday morning.
The fire caused no injuries, the company said in a statement Saturday.
An explosion occurred at the Wentworth refinery shortly after 07:00 on Friday.
At the time, KwaZulu-Natal emergency services spokesman Robert McKenzie told News24 that fire and smoke could be seen coming from the refinery and that an apartment block on Beach Road in front of the refinery was also had burned down.
On Friday, emergency services personnel said one person had been injured and six others had been treated for smoke inhalation.
“Regarding the fire incident at the Engen refinery on Friday … Engen would like to confirm that there were no injuries. All refinery personnel have been accounted for,” says Engen spokesman Gavin Smith.
The fire was extinguished at 8:45 a.m., Smith says.
“All process units at the refinery have been safely shut down to ensure the plant remains completely safe while the root cause investigation of the incident is carried out,” he said.
“Engen will continue to provide its full cooperation with authorities and government agencies to finalize the investigation of the incident.”
SEE | Mass explosion at the Engen refinery in Durban
He added that consumers should not expect any fuel shortages.
“Engen is currently assessing its overall bulk fuel supply and demand position and implementing immediate mitigations to manage inventory and product supply requirements. In these efforts, the needs of our customers remain our priority and they are assured that the company is working hard to ensure a secure supply of petroleum commodities to the market. “
In November 2008, the refinery was closed for about four months after an explosion. In 2007, a fire caused by lightning in a fuel storage tank burned for three days and cost the refinery R210 million.
