According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Irving Oil's refinery in St. John's, New Brunswick, Canada, exploded on October 8. Local police said they asked residents to completely avoid the area. The streets near the refinery have also been closed. There have been no casualties yet.
Owen Petroleum said in a statement on Twitter: "We can confirm that the refinery in St. John's City had a violent explosion in the morning." Owen Petroleum said that the company is still continuing to evaluate the situation.
A violent explosion occurred at an oil refinery of Irving Oil. A number of mainstream Canadian media reported that this is Canada's largest refinery.
The factory said on the night of the incident that the scene of the accident has been controlled and the overall situation has stabilized. The factory also stated that only a few employees of the contractor were injured in the accident and were not life-threatening.
The City of St. John’s confirmed that no one was killed or seriously injured in the current incident. The police’s blockade of the nearby area is gradually being lifted. The local environment and health department said that the monitoring showed that air quality is not harmful to public health.
The refinery has approximately 1,400 employees and handles more than 320,000 barrels per day. However, the refinery temporarily shut down most of its facilities for maintenance from the end of September.
According to the Owen Oil Company website, more than half of the refinery's finished products are exported to the northeastern United States. It is the main provider of refined oil in the northeastern United States and may also be the foreign company that exports the most refined oil products to the United States. After the explosion, the supply of refined oil in the northeastern United States may be affected for a while.
The media quoted the factory as saying that the failure of the diesel processing unit may be the cause of the explosion. The unit has been isolated. However, the specific cause of the accident has yet to be confirmed by investigation. The refinery also needs to remain closed for further investigation.
