A fire brought production of diesel to a halt at a refinery owned by Bangchak Petroleum Plc in Sukhumvit Soi 64, Bangkok, on Friday morning.
The fire began about about 7am at a diesel production unit with a capacity of 25,000 barrels per day, and was initially believed to have been caused by an oxygen leak.
The temporary shutdown could cut the oil firm's earnings in the first quarter of 2011 by about 30 million baht, BCP President Anusorn Sangnimnuan said.
Fire engines and suppressant chemicals were immediately dispatched into the refinery and the blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes.
Nobody was hurt and the fire did not cause damage to or disrupt other production units, which are still in operating condition, he said.
Mr Anusorn said the company was still establishing the cause of the fire and assessing damage to the production unit.
What happened did not affect the environment and communities around the refinery. Bangchak had sent its staff to explain the incident to the people in the surrounding communites to convince them of their safety, he said.
The BCP president said he had ordered the entire refinery to temporarily halt operations for safety reasons. The production unit hit by fire would be thoroughly examined after the temperature had dropped, probably in about 10 hours.
If the damage was severe, the original plan to close the unit for repairs for 35 days beginning Feb 24 would be moved forward.
But if the damage was minor, the unit would be repaired right away and put back in operation. Other units were expected to resume operation in one to two days.
He said the incident would not affect the availability of diesel domestically since the company had five million barrels of the fuel inreserve, enough for two months distribution. However, the export of diesel fuel would be suspended for the time being.
Mr Anusorn said the suspension would likely result in a cut in the first quarter's earnings by about 30 million baht, but insisted that the overall operation of the company would not be affected.
Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul said the fire will not lead to an increase in the retail prices of fuels.
"The incident will not affect Bang Chak's oil distribution as we have more than two months of oil reserves," Mr Wannarat said.