Fire at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery
A fire broke out at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery on Monday morning. Firefighters got the fire under control after about two hours. KNPC announced this on Twitter. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to rise.
It concerns the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, about 40 kilometers south of Kuwait City. The 10.5 square kilometer complex has been in operation since 1949 and produces 466,000 barrels of oil every day.
According to the company, “some employees have suffered minor injuries” and “others have difficulty breathing after inhaling smoke”. Two people were taken to the hospital, their condition is stable, according to KNPC.
The refinery’s operations have not been shut down despite the fire. Kuwait is a major oil exporter, accounting for nearly 2.4 million barrels per day.
Oil price
Oil prices continue their rally on Monday. Concerns about the limited supply during the winter months have pushed prices to their highest level in years for more than eight weeks. In early trade, a barrel of the North Sea type Brent cost $85.80 on Monday, 94 cents more than Friday. In between, the price peaked at $86.04, the highest level in three years.
For the American type, WTI had to pay $ 83.52 per barrel, $1.24 more. In the early morning, the price briefly rose to 83.73 euros, the highest since 2014.
As a global recovery from the corona crash unfolds, the oil market has additional concerns about a winter shortage.
