One Killed, Six Injured in Fire at Baiji Oil Refinery
The blaze broke out at an upgrading unit inside the refinery in Salahaddin province. Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that firefighting teams quickly brought the fire under control.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A fire at the Baiji oil refinery in northern Iraq claimed the life of one worker and injured six others on Monday, according to Iraqi authorities.
The blaze broke out at an upgrading unit inside the refinery in Salahaddin province. Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that firefighting teams quickly brought the fire under control.
“One worker was killed and six others were injured in the incident,” the statement said, without providing further details on the condition of the injured.
A local official in Baiji, Adel al-Daj, said that the fire was caused by a technical malfunction, stressing that the situation was swiftly contained.
Located about 200 kilometers north of Baghdad, the Baiji refinery was once Iraq’s largest oil processing facility. It suffered extensive damage during intense battles with ISIS after the militants seized large parts of the country in 2014.
Following a comprehensive rehabilitation process, the refinery was officially reopened in February 2024 as part of Iraq’s efforts to restore key energy infrastructure.
Iraq is among the world’s leading oil producers, with crude oil exports accounting for around 90 percent of the country’s budget revenues.