KABUL: An explosion and fire have forced the shutdown of a refinery operated by Valero Energy Corp in Texas, United States.
According to Reuters on Tuesday, the blast occurred in a diesel hydrotreater unit at the facility, located in eastern Texas near the Louisiana border.
The refinery processes around 380,000 barrels of oil per day, while the affected unit produces approximately 47,000 barrels of diesel daily.
The explosion was reportedly felt up to 11 miles (18 km) away. The cause of the incident remains unclear.
Firefighting efforts continued for hours after the blast.