The dawn blast at Baiji oil refinery, the largest in Iraq, caused significant fire and smoke to break out in the oil processing section facility, Yasin Dawoodi, a member of the Salahaddin Provincial Council, told Rudaw.
Civil defense teams are working to contain the fire, which Dawoodi said was “technical” and not a terrorist attack.
In February 2024, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reopened the refinery, which was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 during the group’s brazen offensive across swathes of northern Iraq.
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in the country in 2017.
In August 2023, Sudani launched the isomerization unit at the Baiji oil refinery, which works on enhancing the value of oil products by changing their molecular shape and raising their octane level.
The Baiji district, some 200 kilometers north of Baghdad, is an industrial center of Iraq, containing several refineries and oil pipelines.
Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report.
