Equinor extinguishes fire in electrical kiosk at Mongstad refinery

Equinor ASA has extinguished a fire at subsidiary Equinor Refining AS’ 226,000-b/d refinery at Mongstad, on Norway’s western coast.

On Feb. 15th at 1 pm CET, Equinor received a report of smoke development in an electrical kiosk at the refinery. The fire was reported extinguished at 3.36 pm CET.

Emergency personnel were routinely sent for medical follow-up, Equinor said in an update Feb. 15. The plant was closed and evacuated for non-critical personnel. There were 950 people at the refinery when the incident occurred.

“It is too early to say anything about the cause of the incident,” the company said in the release, noting the company’s emergency organization was mustered, and authorities were notified.

Equinor is contemplating a transformation of the refinery into a low-carbon industrial cluster equipped for production of blue hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Earlier this week the company noted a contract let to Aker Solutions ASA to execute a feasibility study for the proposed transformation (OGJ Online, Feb. 14, 2024).