ABU DHABI — An oil refinery in Kuwait sustained damaged by an
explosion.
Officials said the explosion took place at the Shuweiba oil refinery,
which produces 200,000 barrels of fuel per day. They said the bombing, which
did not result in casualties, led to a partial shutdown of the facility.
The bombing of the refinery's heavy oil unit was reported during a U.S.
military alert of an Iranian-sponsored strike on Gulf Cooperation Council
states. The alert was said to have focused on a potential attack on oil
facilities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Shuweiba, located 50 kilometers south of Kuwait City, has been the
smallest refinery in the sheikdom. Officials said the facility, which
produces gasoline and natural gas, was operating at a rate of 130,000
barrels per day in wake of the blast, Middle East Newsline reported.
More than 800 people were evacuated after the bombing, which sparked a
fire at Shuweiba. Officials said that by late Saturday, the blaze was
extinguished.
The bombing at Shuweiba was expected to hurt Kuwait's requirements for
gasoline and other fuel. In late October, the state-owned Kuwait National
Petroleum Corp. suspended operations at Mina Abdullah, the second largest
refinery in the sheikdom and with a capacity of 270,000 barrels per day.
Hussein Ismail, deputy managing director of Shuweiba, said the bombing
was not the work of whom he termed terrorists. Ismail said an investigation
would be launched, but did not say when the facility would return to full
operations.
"We don't know," Ismail said. "That depends on the extent of the
damage."