A fire broke out on Monday evening at a processing unit of the Danube Refinery in the Hungarian town of Százhalombatta, south of Budapest, according to a statement by Hungarian energy company MOL.
The fire has been contained as of Tuesday, according to AP News. Euronews said the fire started after an explosion at the AV3 unit, which supplies crude oil fractions to other plants in the refinery.
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AP News called the refinery “Hungary’s only major crude-processing facility,” adding that it mostly refines Russian oil transported via the Druzhba pipeline – hit inside Russia by Kyiv forces this year – despite the EU’s move to phase out Russian energy after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
While the cause of the fire is unclear, MOL Downstream Production and Development Senior Vice President Krisztian Pulay said there are no signs of foul play at present.
“We have seen no signs that any external tampering played a role in the outbreak of the fire,” Pulay told a news briefing, according to Reuters.
The company said in a statement posted to the Budapest Stock Exchange website that safety protocols were followed, and units not affected by the fire gradually restarted on Tuesday.
The company added that it will work to ensure domestic fuel supplies and would tap into Hungary’s strategic reserve if needed.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday that he has talked to MOL representatives, adding that the “fuel supply of Hungary is safe.”
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“The circumstances of the fire at the Sázhalombatta oil refinery are being investigated as strictly as possible,” Orban added in his Facebook update.