Largest oil refinery in Syria halts operations due to earthquake damage

The largest Syrian oil refinery in the city of Banias has suspended work due to equipment damage due to the earthquake, Report informs, citing the Oil and Mineral Resources Ministry of Syria.

Repair work will take at least two days.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred at 4:17 am on February 6 in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras. The quake caused destruction in a number of cities in Turkiye and Syria. According to the latest data, 237 people were killed in Syria, and 639 were injured.

A crack in the chimney of the Banias refinery's power unit, and oil leaks from cracks in buildings required the shutdown of the refinery to fix the damage. It is expected to return to operation in 48 hours.

The ministry also reported damage to residential buildings in Banias and gas storage towers in Aleppo.