Five Killed in Malaysian Refinery Fire and Explosion

Authorities added a fifth victim to the death toll from a half-day fire and explosion Sunday night at a Petronas-Aramco oil refinery in southern Malaysia, according to information linked to the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Facebook page.

Operations commander Pauzan Ahmad said the body of the latest victim found at the Pengerang Refinery in Pengerang, Malaysia, was recovered at 12:42 p.m. Monday.

Firefighters report that the fire happened in a diesel hydro treater which removes sulfur from raw diesel using hydrogen gas.

Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem) is a strategic alliance between Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), the national oil company of Malaysia, and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

The facility was expected to begin full commercial operations this year. Upon completion, the refinery, will process around 300,000 barrels per day of crude which will yield an estimated 3.6 million tons of petrochemical products annually.