A gas condensate pipeline at a refinery in southwestern Iran exploded on Thursday after being hit by an excavator, state-controlled news agencies reported.

"There were no casualties and rescue and operations forces are at the scene of the accident and have cut off the line," state broadcaster IRIB quoted the Parsian refinery's head as saying. The pipeline was shut off.

There is no independent report about the incident given Iran's strict control of information.

The pipeline carries 32,000 barrels of gas condensate daily(12 million annually) worth approximately $900 million, to the Persian Gulf cost.

Before US sanctions, Japan and Korea were the biggest customers of Parsian’s gas condensate. Now only China is a customer.

The semi-official Fars news agency carried a similar report.

Mohammad Asgari, a spokesman for the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said gas production was not affected by the accident, the semi-official YJC news agency reported.

Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves but production has not kept pace with galloping demand for heavily subsidized gas, because of lack of investment and foreign partners as the economy faces US sanctions.

With reporting by Reuters