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One Dead After Explosion in Bosnian Oil Refinery

October 10, 201811:19
One worker reportedly died and several others were injured after an explosion in the Russian-owned oil refinery in the northern Bosnian town of Brod, Mayor Ilija Jovicic said on Wednesday.
Photo: courtesy of Mirna Juric

One worker died and six others were taken to hospital for treatment after an explosion on Tuesday in the oil refinery in the town of Brod, in the north of Bosnia’s mainly Serb entity, Republika Srpska. The explosion occurred in the petroleum processing facility at around 9:30pm local time and the cause is still unknown.

It was after midnight when firefighters managed to localise the fire that erupted after the fierce explosion that damaged the oil-processing plant and smashed glass in nearby homes.

“At around 3am, the body of one employee was found. He was killed in the explosion at the refinery,” Brod’s Mayor, Ilija Jovicic, told Radio Republika Srpska.

The refinery in Brod, as well as the refinery in Modrica and Nestro Petrol in Banja Luka, form part of Optima Group, which is majority-owned by NefteGazInkor, a subsidiary of the Russian company Zarubezhneft.

“We point out that the air quality indicators are within normal limits and there is no danger to the health of the inhabitants of Brod and neighbouring municipalities,” Optima Group said on Wednesday.

The explosion also echoed in the neighbouring Croatian town of Slavonski Brod.

The towns of Brod and Slavonski Brod are divided only by the river Sava, which forms the state border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Citizens of Slavonski Brod have protested for years over the pollution that comes from the nearby refinery in the neighbouring state.

On Wednesday, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was due to attend a meeting on energy-related issued in Slavonski Brod.

The meeting was scheduled before the explosion. The Croatian daily Jutarnji list said the main topic would be gasification of the Brod refinery, which would ease the pollution problem. The meeting was to be attended by representatives of Russia’s Zarubezhneft.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Republika Srpska President Milorad last week in Sochi, said he was aware of the concerns of Croatian residents about the pollution from the refinery in Brod, and believed this problem should be solved by gasification.

The refinery represents the largest single Russian investment in Bosnia. However, the company has accumulated total losses of 300 million euros, with 7.5 million euros lost in 2017, the latest auditor’s report from Republika Srpska, published on March 12, says.

When it was privatised in 2007, it was presented as an economic lifesaver for Bosnia’s mainly Serbian entity.

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Explosion Shakes Bosnian Refinery