More than 45 oil and gas refineries have reported fires and explosions globally in the last month and a half, marking a significant increase over what’s considered “normal” in the way of industrial accidents.
The drastic uptick in explosions is being racked up to warfare in places like Russia and “accidents” in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Romania and India.
“Taken together, they point to an energy system operating under unusual pressure at a moment of global instability.”
On Monday, May 11, firefighters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, responded to a fire at the HF Sinclair refinery around 11 a.m., with dramatic video showing massive flames and thick black smoke rising from the facility. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, and no information has been released about possible injuries.
Just a few days before that, on May 8, an explosion and fire occurred at the Chalmette Refining facility, located about 10 miles east of New Orleans, Louisiana. The fire was attributed to an unspecified mechanical failure in an operating unit. Cause undetermined.
The explosion sent thick smoke into the air, rattled homes across parts of St. Bernard Parish, and sparked concerns from residents about why warning alarms did not go off after the blast.
Another explosion and fire occurred at the Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on March 23, 2026.
And these explosions aren’t limited to petro-chemical plants in the United States.
In the last 45 days, more than 45 oil and gas facilities worldwide have reported fires and explosions.
The incidents have occurred across multiple regions, highlighting a widespread issue in the energy sector.
There is almost never a clearly determined cause for these fires and explosions. Are the world’s energy facilities under attack, possibly involving sabotage, a type of fifth-generation warfare against food and energy? That’s the question some are starting to ask.
The increase in fires and explosions leads to tighter energy supplies and higher prices, affecting both consumers and industries dependent on these resources at the same time supplies are already at historically low levels due to the war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
To compensate for the world losing 13 million barrels a day of oil going through the Strait of Hormuz, many countries have released oil from their strategic reserves, which will at some point run dry. And this isn’t the only war affecting the production and distribution of oil and natural gas. Ukraine has been blowing up Russian oil refineries and storage facilities at a steady rate for the last several months, using its sophisticated drone arsenal to take more than 25 percent of Russian oil production off the market.
Over the last two months, refineries and fuel storage facilities around the world have caught fire due to war (Russia, UAE, Qatar) or alleged accidents (Australia, the United States, India and Mexico), adding more pressure to stressed oil and gas supply chains.
