TEHRAN, Oct. 31 (Shana) � Iran continued operation in its Persian Gulf crude oil exporting Kharq Island after the fire caused by lightning hitting the island�s offshore terminal on Saturday was put off, said an official in the Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC).
�The fire was doused and the terminal�s tanks are in the operation with the input-output conservation under control,� said Ali Sardar, IOTC�s head of HSE.

�The HSE crew reacted shortly after lightning struck one of tanks and extinguished the fire in three hours,� he added, saying that based on the Met Office�s weather report which forecast thunderstorm in the area, pre-cautionary measures were adopted to avoid any incident.

Some 90 percent of Iran�s crude oil export is carried out from the Kharq Terminal.

In September, it was announced that Iran�s second terminal for exporting oil and gas after the Kharq Island will be constructed in the Jask port, southern Hormozgan province.

�The National Iranian Oil Company has plans to set up a hub for oil export in the Oman Sea,� Secretary of the Supreme Council of Iran�s Free Trade, Industrial, and Special Economic Zones Akbar Torkan said.

By SHANA