HPCL share price in focus after fire breaks out at Visakhapatnam refinery; here’s what investors should know

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) shares are set to be in focus of investors on Tuesday, November 3, after a fire broke out at the company’s refinery at Gajuwaka Industrial Area located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday night.

Latest reports suggest that there have been no casualties in the fire incident, and so far there have been no reports of any injuries. However, HPCL is yet to release any official statement on the event.

Investors are expected to review the latest fire incident that took place after market hours on November 2, as the impact and the cause behind such an accident are yet to be determined by the State-owned oil marketing company.

NSE data showed that Hindustan Petroleum shares closed 2.19% higher at ₹358 apiece after the trading session on Monday, in comparison to ₹340.55 apiece at the previous equity market close.

What happened on Monday night?

On Monday night, the residents in the area reportedly heard a loud sound of an explosion, after which thick smoke and fire could be seen as people rushed out of their homes after the incident.

Latest reports from Hindustan Times showed that a sulphur pitch tank at Hindustan Petroleum’s refinery premises is believed to have accidentally erupted, in turn catching fire, resulting in thick smoke and the eruption of flames.

An employee of HPCL told the news portal that the flames quickly spread to the nearby areas, sending thick clouds of black smoke into the sky and engulfing the surrounding locality.

“The fire is believed to have erupted at the sulphur pitch tank of the refinery's Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF) within the HPCL refinery premises. The tank caught fire, resulting in eruption of flames and thick smoke,” a Police Inspector informed the media.

The news portal’s report also suggests that the dire incident triggered widespread panic among the people in the area who are living close to the HPCL refinery. The internal fire team at the plant rushed to carry out firefighting operations soon after the incident.

Fire stations were alerted about the incident, but the reports suggest that the internal fire team was able to bring the situation under control. As a precaution, the refinery officials suspended power supply to the affected area and evacuated the workers to a safer location.

The HPCL employee told the news portal that the exact cause of the fire will be determined on Tuesday, November 3.

HPCL share performance

NSE data showed that HPCL shares have delivered more than 66% returns to their investors in the last five years, and over 102% gains on their investment as of the stock market close levels on Monday, November 2.

However, the stock has lost 28% of its value in the past one-year period, and has declined 30% year-to-date (YTD).

The exchange data also showed that Hindustan Petroleum shares were up 0.8% in the last one-month, but have declined 1.6% in the last five trading sessions as of Monday’s market close.

The PSU refinery company’s market capitalisation (m-cap) was at ₹74,048 crore as of the trading close on Monday, November 2, 2026.