U.S. Helicopters Blamed For Fire In A Major Oil Refinery In Iraq

[Botany]

http://www.rttnews.com/FOREX/gblnews.asp?date=01/15/2008&item=9

1/15/2008 12:12:31 PM A fire broke out at one of Iraq's three main oil refineries on Tuesday, and Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani blamed it on a U.S. helicopter hovering over the refinery, the AP reported.

“A helicopter flying above the refinery in Shuaiba caused the fire and led to the leakage of a huge amount of liquid gas as the blaze hit the gas production unit,” Al-Shahristani said in a statement, without clarifying how the helicopter's presence caused the fire. He said the U.S. chopper defied the ministry's warning against aircraft flying above oil institutions, especially refineries.

Four workers suffered burn injuries in the fire that started at 7 a.m. local time “due to an explosion,” said Assem Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry. Firefighters and technical teams put out the fire, and production was continuing, he added.

The Shuaiba refinery, on the southern outskirts of Iraqi oil city Basra, has a production capacity of 160,000 barrels per day but has been functioning below capacity at about 100,000 barrels per day.

Iraq, despite possessing the world's third-largest crude oil reserves with an estimated 115 billion barrels, imports oil products such as gasoline and kerosene from neighbors Iran, Kuwait, and Turkey due to their inability to fully utilize the production capacity.

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"Freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world." - --

George W. Bush

[jayfish]

1. Static Electricity Would Be My Guess

Helicopter blades produce static electricity as the slice through the air.

Jay

[Botany]

2. I had heard that they were firing @ somebody on the ground.

Either way it does not help our position in Iraq.