HSE & Sustainability

Islamic State Says It Launched Rocket Attack on Northern Iraq Oil Refinery

A rocket hit a small oil refinery in northern Iraq on 29 November, causing a fire at a fuel storage tank and forcing a complete shutdown of operations after the blaze spread to a nearby pipeline network, two refinery officials said.

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A rocket hit a small oil refinery in northern Iraq on 29 November, causing a fire at a fuel storage tank and forcing a complete shutdown of operations after the blaze spread to a nearby pipeline network, two refinery officials said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for attacking the Siniya refinery, in a statement posted on the group’s official channel.

It said two Katyusha rockets were used in the attack. It gave no further details on any casualties.

A spokesman for the state-run Northern Refineries, which manages a number of Iraqi refineries, earlier told Iraq’s state news agency that two rockets had hit the Siniya refinery, causing a fire that it said had been controlled.

Officials said halting operations at the Siniya refinery, which has refining capacity of 30,000 B/D, was a safety measure to prevent further damage.

“We completely shut down production units to avoid extensive damage that could result,” a chief engineer at the refinery said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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