A fire broke out at the refinery in 2001

The catalytic cracking unit, which handles 90,000 barrels of oil a day, has been closed following the incident.

A company spokesman said the fire had broken out at the gasoline-making plant at the Pembroke refinery.

Twelve fire engines from Mid and West Wales Fire Service and ambulance crews were called to the site after reports at 1305 GMT by Milford Haven coastguard of black smoke in the sky.

A Texaco spokesperson said the fire was put out and the all-clear given two hours later.

Two members of the refinery's fire response team suffered minor injuries and were treated on site.

The spokesman said no other units at the refinery were not directly affected by the fire.

The response to the incident was coordinated by the refinery's own team, who called emergency fire crews.

Massive fire

A fire service spokeswoman said the situation had demanded a response of 10 fire engines and special appliances.

"The fire was out within 40 minutes," she said.

Fire crews in Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Haverfordwest and Tenby were all called to the scene.

At 1400 GMT, the severity of the incident was downgraded.

The last of the fire service personnel left the refinery at 1641 GMT.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The incident follows a massive fire at the refinery which broke out on 19 June 2001.

That blaze was caused by a leak of hydrogen from one of the refinery units and smoke was seen by eyewitnesses rising hundreds of feet into the air.

According to Texaco, the refinery is one of the largest manufacturers of petrol in north-west Europe, producing approximately three million gallons of petrol per day.