Fire breaks out at ONGC-owned Hazira gas plant in Gujarat, India

A major fire broke out at a gas processing plant owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Surat in the Indian state of Gujarat during the early hours of 24 September.

The fire that broke out in the main terminal line at the ONGC plant in the Hazira suburb has been ‘doused’. It was caused by three consecutive blasts inside the plant premises.

There have been no reports of any casualties or injuries, according to news agency ANI.

Surat Collector Dhaval Patel was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Around 3:05am last night, three consecutive blasts took place at the ONGC Hazira plant, which led to the fire. Seven fire tenders and several firefighters immediately reached the spot to provide relief. No casualties have been reported so far.

“We are relieved that the fire was contained inside the premises of the plant and did not escalate to an off-site emergency.”

The fire at the gas processing plant is currently under control, Reuters reported.

The ONGC plant in Hazira was established in 1985 and is considered to be among the largest sour gas processing complexes in India.

In May, ONGC placed a notice of award (NoA) to seven bidders in 13 contract areas that comprise 49 marginal oil and gas fields.

In September last year, a large fire broke out at the ONGC plant at Navi Mumbai and killed at least four people, injured 11 others.