Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has identified a pressure gauge leak as the probable cause of the recent fire at its Rajasthan refinery. The company anticipates completing restoration work within three to four weeks, aiming to resume operations by the second half of May.
The fire, which occurred at the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. on April 20, impacted the crude distillation unit due to a suspected hydrocarbon leak. Investigations revealed that the incident was confined to the heat exchanger stack, affecting six exchangers and related equipment.
HPCL disclosed that the fire likely originated from a pressure gauge tapping point on the vacuum residue exchanger inlet line. The refinery is currently undergoing restoration efforts, with the crude distillation unit restart scheduled for the latter part of May 2026.
Other secondary units at the refinery are progressing as planned, with trial production of essential fuels like LPG, petrol, diesel, and naphtha set to commence in May. The refinery’s dedication ceremony, initially planned for April 21, has been postponed, and a new date will be announced in the future.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has initiated a separate inquiry into the incident, appointing M. Venkatesh, former Managing Director of MRPL, to lead a four-member investigation team. Refineries globally face risks of fires and accidents during commissioning, especially when introducing hydrocarbons into high-pressure systems.
