This paper presents a statistical analysis of reported accidents related to the Skikda's Oil and Gas Refinery that led to a major explosion and loss of life. A historical review of fire, explosion and toxic release incidents that occurred during the period between 2002 and 2013 is presented. A brief description of each accident/incident is provided with the fatalities and personal injuries that resulted being described. These case studies have been analyzed with a view to understand the common causes including errors, which have led to catastrophic events. Accident frequency analysis has been applied to various types of primary accidental events such as fire, explosion and toxic gas releases to assess the potential damage of such events and the likelihood of such damage occurring. The basic principles of such analysis is to utilize the available information and use the most detailed elements to illustrate what the industry should learn from these accidents so that it can learn from them and hopefully prevent future major accidents. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.