Iran: Major Explosions at Mahshahr Petrochemical Plant

Written by Mohsen Aboutalebi on April 5, 2022. Posted in NEWS

The chemical waste warehouse of Hamour Company, which is located in the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Zone, caught fire in August 2021.

On Thursday, March 31, two members of the unit were severely injured after an explosion and fire at the Kavoshgaran Petroleum Refining Company, one of the Mahshahr Petrochemical Complex’s sites in southwestern Iran. The official state news agency, IRNA, confirmed the incident and stated that the fire was extinguished and under control. It was reported that two workers from this petrochemical plant had suffered severe burns and had been transferred to Mahshahr’s Hajieh Narges Hospital. According to IRNA, firefighters were able to put out the fire.

In an interview with IRNA, a spokesman for the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone said, “The cause of the accident is being investigated by HSE experts of the Special Economic Zone Organization.”

The recent fires and explosions in petrochemical companies and units in Iran, particularly in the Mahshahr economic zone, are not unusual. Similar incidents occurred at Mahshahr’s Tondgouyan Petrochemical, Ilam Petrochemical, Khark Island Petrochemical Complex, and Kangan Petroleum Refinery. The chemical waste warehouse of Hamour Company, which is located in the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Zone, caught fire in August 2021.

The most widespread and destructive fire at an oil facility occurred at the Tehran oil refinery in June of last year, killing one person and injuring another. While some of these incidents are suspected to be deliberate, poor condition and worn-out equipment are also major factors.

#BREAKING #Khuzestan, SW #Iran—"Fearsome explosions at #Mahshahr Petrochemical Plant," state-run Borna website reported a few minutes ago.

Two days earlier, official websites reported a fire at this facility's parking. "The fire's perpetrators were armed and arrested." pic.twitter.com/7hhJueYPR0

— Iran News Update (@IranNewsUpdate1) March 31, 2022

The cause of the accident is being investigated by experts from the Special Economic Zone Organization, according to Mohsen Adibi, a spokesman for the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone.

This came just three days after the IRNA news agency reported that “the perpetrators of the fire parked in the parking lot of the guest house of Rah-e Avaran Fanun Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr” and had been arrested by police.