KUWAIT CITY, Jan 14, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Two people were killed and 10

others injured after a fire broke out on Friday at a gas liquefaction unit in
Kuwait's largest refinery, the plant's operator said.

   The blaze "erupted during maintenance work" on the unit at Mina al-Ahmadi
refinery, 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Kuwait City, state-owned Kuwait
National Petroleum Company (KNPC) announced on Twitter.

   Having initially said that 10 people were injured, it later updated its
casualty toll, saying two workers "of Asian nationality" had been found dead
at the site.

   Seven of those injured were hospitalised, five of them in "critical
condition", KNPC added.

   Firefighters were mobilised and had extinguished the blaze.

   Oil Minister Mohammed al-Fares later visited the site of the fire.

   KNPC said Kuwait's refining operations and exports were unaffected, as the
unit had already been out of service.

  Mina al-Ahmadi, where another fire last October caused a number of light
injuries, is the largest of Kuwait's three refineries and handles some
466,000 barrels of oil per day.

   A fourth is under construction with a daily capacity of 615,000 barrels.

   A key member within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), Kuwait is currently producing about 2.4 million barrels a day.