Sabotage Causes Fire At Shadegan Oilfield In Southern Iran

Iran said on Tuesday it brought under control a fire at Shadegan oilfield in southern Khuzestan province caused by an apparent act of sabotage, according to a company official.

Ghobad Nasseri, head of the Maroon Oil and Gas Production Company which exploits Shadegan, told state broadcaster that the fire broke out early on Tuesday after “unknown elements tampered with” one of some 20 active wells.

"The situation is completely under control and there is no cause for concern... The damage is being evaluated but the field will return to production shortly," he added.

The Shadegan field has an estimated total production capacity of about 70,000 barrels per day, according to one source or 110,000 according to another.

Earlier in the month, an explosion rocked Iran’s and Middle East’s oldest oil refinery in southwestern city of Abadan in the oil-rich province, which has been the scene of anti-government unrest in recent months.

This was the second incident at the Abadan refinery, which supplies around 25 percent of the country’s fuel needs, this year. In April, a section of the refinery caught fire but the blaze was contained with no fatalities or injuries.

Several explosions and fires in Iranian military and industrial sites − including pipelines and refineries − since mid-2020 have not been fully explained by authorities. However, they have blamed Israel for a series of spectacular sabotage attacks on nuclear facilities, including two explosions at Natanz uranium enrichment center. Israel has not taken responsibility for any incident.