India’s new mega refinery hit by fire ahead of opening ceremony

A fire at ​a major refinery in India's ‌western state of Rajasthan has been brought under control, leading to the postponement ​of its inauguration by Prime ​Minister Narendra Modi, the oil ministry ⁠said, Reuters reports.

The fire broke ​out near the crude distillation unit ​of the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd complex and an investigation has been initiated to ​determine the cause and take ​remedial measure, the ministry said.

Modi was scheduled ‌to ⁠launch the facility on April 21. No casualties have been reported, the oil ministry said.

The facility, India's first ​greenfield integrated ​refinery-petrochemical ⁠complex, is a joint venture between state-run Hindustan Petroleum ​Corporation Limited (HPCL.NS), opens new tab and the Rajasthan ​government.

It ⁠has a processing capacity of 9 million metric tons per year, ⁠according ​to its website.

By Vafa Guliyeva