The fire at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s Visakhapatnam refinery was brought under control after breaking out in a pitch intermediate storage tank, with no casualties or damage reported to any refinery units, the company said.
The incident occurred at around 10 pm on November 2, 2026, at HPCL’s Visakh refinery. The company said its Fire and Safety Team promptly activated firefighting and emergency response measures after the fire was reported.
According to HPCL, the fire was localized to the pitch storage tank area and was brought under control quickly. Pitch is a dark, viscous residue left after petrol, diesel and gas oils are processed from crude oil. The affected tank was used to store the material.
“All the Units of Refinery are working safely,” HPCL said in a statement, adding that it remained committed to safety standards and emergency preparedness. The company also said there were no casualties in the incident.
The Visakhapatnam refinery is one of HPCL’s two operating refineries and has a processing capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum. The company’s other refinery, in Mumbai, has a capacity of 9.5 million tonnes per annum.
The Visakh refinery was commissioned in 1957 by Caltex Oil Refining India with an initial crude processing capacity of 0.675 million tonnes per annum. It was expanded in phases to its current 15-million-tonne capacity. The refinery and its associated marketing facilities were nationalised in 1976 and amalgamated with HPCL in 1978.
HPCL’s statement did not report any disruption to refinery operations following the incident. It said all refinery units were functioning safely after the fire was controlled.
