Al Jubail Fire Kills 12 Maintenance Workers

A fire at Jubail United Petrochemical Co. in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, on Apr.16 killed 12 people and injured 11, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said. The blaze, which reports said was extinguished within 10 minutes, began during routine maintenance at an unspecified production facility.

The company, a subsidiary of SABIC, said the maintenance workers inhaled thick black chemical-containing smoke, which contributed to their deaths. Six of the 11 injured employees were said to be in serious condition on Apr. 17.

In a statement released to the Saudi stock exchange, SABIC said the fire would not impact the operations at the plant. “The company is currently working on evaluating the final impact resulted from this fire to determine the financial impact, which is expected not to be materially substantial,” SABIC said.

Founded in 2000, Jubail United Petrochemical Co specializes in production of industrial organic chemicals, in particular ethylene, polyethylene, ethylene glycol and linear alpha olefins, downstream of a 1 million t/y cracker.