Fire Disrupts Operations at Ecuador’s Biggest Refinery

The largest refinery in Ecuador was forced to suspend operations after a fire erupted in the pumps at one of the units of the 110,000 barrel-per-day Esmeraldas refinery, Ecuador’s state firm Petroecuador said in a statement.

On Sunday, a fire broke out at the charging pumps at the SEVIA unit at Esmeraldas in what was the third such incident at the refinery in nine months.

The SEVIA unit processes vacuum residue to reduce its viscosity and produce fuel oil, as part of the refinery’s regular operations.

The fire was brought under control late on Sunday local time, but the refinery operations were preemptively and temporarily halted, Petroecuador said, without detailing or hinting at a cause for the fire.

Currently, control and technical evaluation work is being carried out at the refinery. When these are complete, Esmeraldas is expected to resume operations, according to the state oil company of Ecuador.

The flames seen in videos circulating on social media correspond to the combustion of the spilled material and do not pose a risk of spreading, the firm added.

At the end of January, the Esmeraldas refinery was again the site of a fire incident. At the time, Petroecuador said that the fire was under control, and there were no injuries or impacts on the refinery’s operations.

This year’s incidents follow the one from the end of May 2025 when a fire halted production at the Esmeraldas refinery, which is close to the border with Colombia. The fire prompted Petroecuador to shut down operations “to safeguard the security of the facilities and personnel.”

In the May 2025 incident, five people received medical attention due to minor effects of smoke inhalation.

Last year, units at Esmeraldas, the biggest of Petroecuador’s three refineries in the country, led the downtime of Ecuadorean refinery units, per company information cited by BNamericas.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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