Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – Iranian oil officials said a fire at the southwestern Shadegan oil field has been extinguished amid claims that the blaze was an act of sabotage.
The fire broke out early on September 13 after “tampering by unknown elements,” but it was quickly brought under control, Qobad Nasseri, head of the Maroon Oil and Gas Production Company which exploits Shadegan, told state television.
The state news agency IRNA said the blaze had been extinguished.
“The damage is being evaluated but the field will return to production shortly,” Nasseri said.
The fire apparently occurred at one of around 20 active wells in Shadegan, whose estimated production capacity is about 70,000 barrels per day.
Shadegan is located in Khuzestan Province, home to Iran’s Arab minority, which has long been the scene of anti-government unrest.
Attacks are rare in Iran, but a number of sensitive military and nuclear sites have been targeted in recent years.
Iran has accused Israel of several attacks on facilities and scientists linked to its nuclear program. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.
On September 13, a judiciary spokesman said authorities have arrested several people over the assassination of a colonel from Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in May, which Tehran has blamed on Israel and its Western allies.
The IRGC said the shooting of Hassan Sayad Khodai in the capital, Tehran, by two people on a motorcycle was the work of “terrorist groups affiliated with global oppression (the West) and Zionism (Israel).”
