OMV: second fire at refinery since March 28

The fire, which began at 3:21 p.m. local time, has been extinguished, OMV spokesman Thomas Huemer said by telephone. Distillery No. 4 can refine 9 million tons of oil a year, according to the Vienna-based company. “We shut down the plant and now we will evaluate the reason,” Huemer said. A date for when the plant may re-open can't yet be determined, he added. Production is being interrupted as crude oil rose above $76 a barrel for the first time. Violence in the Middle East and Nigeria are posing a threat to supplies. Futures touched $76.40 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since trading began in 1983. A leak at oil distillery No. 4 was responsible for the March blaze, Huemer said. That fire caused up to € 30 million of damages and lost productivity, OMV said May 16. Seventy firefighters worked on extinguishing today's fire. No one was injured and the fire didn't spread. OMV's Schwechat refinery is about five kilometers (three miles) east of Vienna. The refinery has a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day. The company's stock fell 70 cents, or 1.5%, to € 47.50 a share in Vienna. (Bloomberg)