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News Topical, Digital Desk : In the past 45 days, fires have been reported at oil refineries and oil fields in five countries, including India. Surprisingly, these incidents are occurring at a time when oil and gas are being used as weapons in the Middle East due to wars.
There is discussion going on internationally whether this is just a coincidence or part of a conspiracy through which an attempt is being made to increase crude oil prices by disrupting the refining capacity of countries.
Pachpadra Refinery accident in India
The HPCL-Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra (Barmer), Rajasthan, was scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 21, 2026. This 13-year-old dream was about to come true, but just a day before the inauguration, a massive fire broke out in its main processing unit.
Although the ministry has stated that the refinery's structures are safe, the incident has delayed the inauguration. Furthermore, on April 12, a fire was reported at an ONGC oil field off the Mumbai coast.
Fire broke out in these countries too
Over the past 45 days, oil plants have been damaged in various parts of the world:
- Ecuador (March 1): A fire broke out at the country's largest refinery, "Esmeraldas," due to a pump failure.
- Mexico (March 17): Five people died in a fire at the Olmeca refinery.
- USA (March 23 and April 10): An explosion occurred at the Valero refinery in Texas and a subsequent fire broke out at the Marathon refinery due to a technical fault.
- Australia (April 16): A fire broke out at Viva's "Korio" refinery near Melbourne, affecting 10 percent of the country's fuel supply. Myanmar (April 20): Ten fuel tankers exploded and burned to ashes at a port in the Sagaing region.
Same pattern globally
Surprisingly, since February (when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran), oil assets have been damaged in six countries outside the war zone.
Except for Russia, other countries (the United States, Australia, Mexico, Ecuador, and India) have attributed these fires to "internal technical failures," not direct attacks. But experts are seeing a "pattern" in this.
suspicion of conspiracy
Experts on the internet media are debating whether these incidents are the result of a conspiracy within the refinery. Four days before the fire at the Rajasthan refinery, some experts on the internet had expressed apprehension that India's enemy nations might target refineries to harm the economy and drive up oil prices.
War and oil politics
The ongoing conflict in West Asia has threatened global energy security. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of global oil exports pass. This tension has caused crude oil prices to surge from $66 per barrel in February to over $100 in March.
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