TEHRAN, June 10 (UPI) -- A fire at an oil well in the Naftshahr field in Iran is burning oil at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day, reports from Iran say of the May explosion.
A gas explosion at a rig in the Naftshahr field set balls of flames into the air in late May, killing three workers and leaving 12 others injured.
Firefighters are struggling to control the blaze consuming at least 8,000 barrels per day, the Financial Times reports, citing local sources.
Iranian media said executives from the drilling and oil sector were dispatched to the site of the blaze in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah to help firefighters assess the emergency.
Workers have built three artificial lakes at the site to give responders the water they need to fight the fire.
Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir Kazemi personally visited the site last week to call on firefighters to step up their operations.
Iran sits on some of the largest oil reserves in the world though pressure from international sanctions drags on its production capacity.
