A significant fire and explosion occurred at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) in Russia’s far eastern Amur region on Tuesday. The facility was nearing completion and was in the pre-commissioning phase at the time of the incident. Emergency services responded promptly, but details regarding casualties or damage are still emerging.
The video shows a massive fire at a large industrial plant. Huge flames can be seen coming from the facility, while thick black smoke rises high into the sky. Several parts of the plant appear to be on fire. The Amur complex is a joint venture between Russian petrochemical company Sibur and China’s state-owned oil and gas giant Sinopec. AGCC is being built near the town of Svobodny in Russia’s Amur region. The complex is designed to process raw materials from the nearby Amur Gas Processing Plant (Amur GPP) and turn them into plastic-making materials. The complex is expected to receive raw materials from the Amur Gas Processing Plant. These materials will be processed at AGCC to make polyethene and polypropylene. The project has been under development for several years. Russia’s Investigative Committee is investigating the deadly fire at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex. Officials are looking into whether industrial safety rules were violated and are trying to find out what caused
Another 152 people were treated for injuries, including 36 who were taken to hospitals, according to Reuters . At the peak of construction, around 30,000 builders were involved in the project, according to the website. It is a roughly $10 billion project designed to become one of the world’s biggest facilities for making polyethene and polypropylene, according to the Moscow Times . Once fully operational, the complex is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of polyethene every year and 400,000 tonnes of polypropylene every year. Up to 2 million tonnes of ethane per year will come from the Amur GPP and around 1.5 million tonnes of LPG per year will also be supplied by the Amur GPP, according to the project figures. The Amur Gas Chemical Complex covers around 325 hectares. Once the complex becomes operational, it is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs. Training of engineers for the Amur Gas Chemical Complex began in 2016. The complex entered the commissioning stage in 2024.
The plant said seven people were killed, including six Chinese nationals, while nine people remain missing.
