Contract worker Michael White had been welding on the roof of a tank at the storage site when another tank containing 300,000 litres of lube oil and fuel mix exploded.
The fire service prevented the fire from spreading and Mr White was only left with minor injuries to his leg, after the Fire Service prevented the inferno spreading.
Health and Safety Executive inspector David Gregory, said: "It was miraculous that the person on the tank at the time it exploded was not killed."
Eco-Oil Ltd of Canterbury, Kent and its chief executive Ian Malcolm Cross from Millbourne, Wickhambreaux, were each charged with breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Maidstone Crown Court. They both pleaded guilty.
The court fined the company £125,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £20,000. Mr Cross was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
