Iranian oil, gas facilities report no damage from strong earthquakes in Persian Gulf

Iranian oil and gas officials said operations and flows had not been impacted by the two strong earthquakes that jolted the country Nov. 14.

The earthquakes, magnitudes 6.4 and 6.3, hit Iran's energy province of Hormozgan on the Persian Gulf, with the epicenter at the town of Laaft on Qeshm island. No infrastructure facilities were damaged on the island, where several oil and gas plants have been built or are under construction, state television reported.

In Bandar Abbas, home to a 350,000 b/d refinery, some telecommunication and power systems have been cut and walls of houses have cracked, and a man was killed by a broken electrical power pole, according to local reports. But Mohammadali Mojtahedzadeh, public relations head for the refinery, told oil ministry news service Shana that the plant remained intact.

"None of the facilities in different parts of this refinery has been damaged," he said.

Hamed Mollazadeh-Sadeghiyoun, head of the provincial oil products distribution company, told Shana that fuel supply stations were likewise unaffected.

"There is no shortage in supply and distribution of fuel in the quake-hit areas," he said.

The National Iranian Gas Co. confirmed that the earthquakes had not damaged nearby gas projects and plants.

"Gas flow in the earthquake-stricken town is stable," Mohammad Asgari, the company's spokesman, was quoted as saying by Shana.

State television quoted seismic research centers that Dubai, south of the epicenter and on the other side of the Persian Gulf waters, has also felt the jolt.