Fire at ExxonMobil refinery in Montana under investigation

BILLINGS (AP) — The cause of an explosion and fire at an ExxonMobil refinery in southern Montana is under investigation, company officials said Sunday.

The fire began at about 10 p.m. Saturday at a refinery in Lockwood, a suburb of Billings. It was extinguished at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday.

There were no injuries and all employees and contractors were accounted for, ExxonMobil spokesperson Dan Carter told The Billings Gazette.

"We are sorry this incident has occurred and apologize for any disruption or inconvenience," Carter said.

It isn't clear how much damage was done and ExxonMobil officials didn't respond to questions about how the fire might affect production.

"A full assessment of any damages and an investigation of the cause will be taking place," Carter said Sunday.

The plant can refine up to 2.5 million gallons (9.4 million liters) of crude oil per day and produces about 600 million gallons (2.3 billion liters) of gasoline and diesel fuel each year. Other products include asphalt, butane and propane.

The refinery's emergency response team fought the fire along with crews from Lockwood, Billings and other area refineries, Yellowstone County officials said.