The 2011 Huizhou refinery explosion incident (7.11火灾) occurred at the Huizhou refinery at the Daya Bay Economic and Technical Development zone in Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. The refinery is owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The blast occurred at 4:30 am on July 11, 2011.[1] This occurred around the same time as the 2011 Bohai bay oil spill.
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Residents said two explosions were heard.[1] The fire from the explosion shot as high as 100 meters into the sky, which caused panic among local residents.[2][3] The site of the fire contained a large quantity of materials including 1,170 tons of dimethylbenzene flammable chemical.[4] The fire was put out by the Daya Bay fire department, refinery zone fire department and CNOOC fire team at 9:00 am.[1][3][5][6]
The Huizhou refinery is only 40 kilometers from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant.[7] This nuclear plant has long been known to be controversial as it sits close to Hong Kong. However state-funded China Daily reported that the blaze never threatened the nuclear plant.[4]
A fire incident have occurred before on July 24, 2010 at the same refinery.[3]