Up to 10,000 tonnes of oil lost following fire at Transneft facilities in Khanty-Mansiysk
MOSCOW. Aug 24 (Interfax) - According to preliminary estimates, total oil losses following a fire at Transneft's facilities in the Khanty Mansiysk Autonomous District reach up to 10,000 tonnes, the company's press secretary, Igor Demin, told Interfax.
The fire in the oil tanks at the Konda pumping station began last Saturday. The station has eight oil tanks, two of which are empty. Each tank can hold 20,000 cubic meters.
The Urals regional center of the Emergency Situations' Ministry told Interfax that lightening caused an explosion that led to fire at two tanks. The fire has now been localized. Operations are underway to cool down a fourth tan.
One firefighter died in the fire, five were injured and three are reported missing.
Demin said that four of the eight tank depots would be dismantled. He added that two additional large reservoirs could be built to compensate, each able to handle 50,000 cubic meters.
The fire had occurred in the tank depot of a pumping facility servicing the Kholmogory-Klin and Surgut-Polotsk oil mains of Sibnefteprovod, a Transneft subsidiary.
Transneft's Vice President, Mikhail Barkov, said that the fire had not interfered in the company's supply of oil to customers.
Barkov told the Russian television channel Vesti that two tank reservoirs would be taken offline for repairs. Two other reservoirs are still functional. "The worst that can happen would be a slight delay in the loading of one or two tankers at Primorsk Port [Leningrad Region]. This will be compensated throughout the month," he said.