Blast at South Korean oil refinery kills 1 worker, injures 9

Fire broke out while workers were testing the facility's alkylation processing unit. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

SEOUL (REUTERS) - One person died in a blast at South Korea's S-Oil Corp's Onsan refinery in Ulsan, and nine others were injured late on Thursday night, an Ulsan Fire Department official said on Friday (May 20).

S-Oil is the country's third-largest refiner and its main shareholder is Saudi Aramco.

The 669,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery is located about 380km southeast of Seoul.

S-Oil said in a regulatory filing that it has halted production at its No. 2 alkylation unit and related processes at its Onsan refinery due to a fire.

Fire broke out while workers were testing the facility's alkylation processing unit following a regular maintenance procedure, Yonhap news agency reported, citing authorities at the fire department.

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