KINGSTON, Jamaica, Aug 28, CMC – Jamaica’s only petroleum refinery, Petrojam, Friday said that the fire at its refinery on Thursday night has been extinguished with no reports of injuries and no immediate impact on fuel supplies.
“First, all of our staff members are accounted for; there were no injuries to any of our staff on duty. Our employee support team is on site to provide any additional assistance,” Petrojam general manager Danville Walker said in a statement.
The company said that the fire was caused by an operational incident and was contained to a section of the refinery and that Petrojam’s emergency response teams responded quickly and brought the blaze under control.
Cooling operations are continuing Friday with the company undertaking an initial assessment of the damage as part of a wider investigation into the fire.
Several operational units remain shut down as a precaution, but Petrojam said the refinery continues to operate safely and reliably.
The state-owned company operates a 35,000 barrel per day hydro-skimming refinery, supplying a full range of domestic, transportation and industrial petroleum products. It also operates a laboratory which provides quality control and certification services for petroleum products manufactured and imported by the refinery.
In may this year, Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Minister, Daryl Vaz, said Petrojam is projecting total sales of 12.21 million barrels for the 2026/2027 financial year, with 7.2 million barrels allocated to the domestic market and 4.9 million barrels for export.
“This dual role ensures reliable local supply while generating valuable foreign exchange earnings,” Vaz, said, while making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.
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