Basra oilfield fire contained, safety inspections begin

Shafaq News/ Firefighters fully extinguished the blaze at an oilfield in Basra, and cooling operations are now in progress, a source said on Friday.

The source told Shafaq News, “Efforts have shifted to safety inspections and assessments, which will take 24 to 48 hours before restarting the halted station and wells.”

For its part, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil announced in a statement that the fire, which erupted in a storage tank at the DS5 gas facility in northern Rumaila, had been brought under control.

The statement announced, “The swift response of firefighting and safety teams, who promptly isolated the damaged valve and cooled adjacent units, was instrumental in quickly containing the fire.”

Basra Oil Company clarified that the fire broke out shortly after crude oil was introduced into Tank 2 following recent maintenance and the exact cause of the incident remains undetermined, the ministry revealed.

Earlier on Friday, a source at the Rumaila oilfield reported a massive fire at one of the refineries, adding that “six workers sustained varying injuries, including a leg fracture, and facial burns.”