A fire that broke out at Astron Energy's 100,000 barrel per day refinery in Cape Town in the early hours of Thursday morning has been contained but production has stopped, the company said in a statement.

The fire started at South Africa's third-biggest crude oil refinery started around 4 a.m. said Astron Energy, which is majority owned by commodities trader Glencore.

"The resultant fire has been contained and all work on the plant has been suspended," said a spokeswoman.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Emma Rumney)