LAKE CHARLES, La. -- A fire that began Friday and continued to burn through the night at Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s Lake Charles, La., refinery has been extinguished, company officials reported. The fire began at approximately 8:30 p.m., Friday and was extinguished Saturday afternoon at approximately 3:00 p.m. All of the other units at the refinery that were not affected by the fire continue to operate at reduced rates, the company reported.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation. Refinery officials have not been able to determine the extent of the damage to the unit and have not given any estimate of how long it will take to repair it.

Three workers received minor injuries from the fire. All three were treated and released from local hospitals.

"We truly regret that this incident occurred," said Citgo President and Chief Executive Officer Oswaldo Contreras, "but we are very pleased that none of our employees or contractors were seriously injured. We will conduct a full investigation into the cause of the fire and take whatever steps are necessary to prevent this from happening again. We are committed to making the necessary repairs to bring the refinery back up to full production as quickly as we possibly can. In the meantime, we expect to meet all of our contractual obligations. We will work with all appropriate governmental agencies."