The fire on the Aghar and Dalan gas transmission line in the Shiraz province came under control early Saturday four hours after it started, NISOC Managing Director Bijan Aalipour said.
After putting off the fire and securing the line, necessary measures for its reconstruction have begun and we are currently in the process of supplying the necessary equipment, another NISOC official, Alireza Dabiri, said.
A committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the explosion, he said as other officials ruled out sabotage.
The incident had four injured, one of whom named Amin Bayrami, a substitute slug catcher for the Gachsaran Oil and Gas Company, passed away at hospital a short while ago and two of the injured received outpatient treatment and were discharged, while another injured person remains in hospital, Dabiri said.
The fire and blast happened during maintenance operations. Officials said it occurred in the vicinity of polyethylene facilities and sour gas pipelines but they were not damaged.
It prompted local officials to order the evacuation of nearby villages as a safety measure.
The incident came in the wake of at least three fires at petrochemical and oil installations in recent weeks.
A fire at Irans largest oil refinery in Abadan on Thursday was contained with no serious damage or impact on operations, the Shana news agency reported.
The blaze broke out in the distillation section 80 of the refinery but did not damage the facilities of the distillation section, its Managing Director Habibollah Abolhosseini said.
He said the fire was due to a leakage in one of the pipes. The refinery in southwest Iran with a processing capacity of 429,000 barrels per day continued to operate normally.
Another fire broke out last week at the Bistoon petrochemical plant in Kermanshah in western Iran after a fault at the facilitys power transmission system but it was brought under control shortly.
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Firefighters are working to extinguish a blaze at Bistoon petrochemical complex in Kermanshah, July 29, 2016. (Photo by Shana)[/caption]The worst blaze, however, hit Bu Ali Sina petrochemical refinery complex in the southwest city of Bandar Mahshahr last month, seriously damaging its paraxylene unit.
Most units at the complex have resumed operations but the paraxylene tower, measuring 121 meters, is said to take a couple of months to get back online.
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Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh (L) watches a blaze burning at Bu Ali Sina petrochemical complex in Bandar Mahshahr, June 8, 2016. (Photo by Shana)[/caption]On Friday, production control director at the National Petrochemical CompanyAli-Mohammad Bossaqzadeh said he saw the tower becoming operational again within two or three months.
He said a French company is providing short-term advisory service to reconstruct the unit.
Iran, which holds the worlds largest reserves of gas, plans to upgrade and expand its energy industry, including petrochemicals.
By Press TV
