UpdatePernis refinery still online after fire - Shell

04 December 2008 16:11  [Source: ICIS news]

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LONDON (ICIS news)--Shell's Pernis refinery is still online despite the fire that broke out in a pipeline, a spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch oil major confirmed on Thursday.

The fire, which broke out at approximately 13:20 local time (12:20 GMT), was thought to have been as a result of a pipe leaking heavy fuel oil near one of the 395,000 bbl/day refinery’s catalytic crackers.

Emergency services were quickly alerted and the blaze was brought under control by around 15:00 local time, but not yet fully put out.

“There are about 40 units on the site and all those outside the affected area are still running,” said spokesman Wim van De Wiel. “There were no injuries as a result of the fire, and most of the staff did not need to be evacuated.”

Added Tinet Jonge of the Rotterdam police force: “The fire was pretty big, and it took about two and a half hours before it was brought under control. It is still ongoing.”

“The refinery was evacuated. There was a lot of smoke, but luckily it didn’t appear to be chemical smoke.”

The fire follows a troubled few months for the giant refinery. At the end of September, another fault with a site catalytic cracker led to a shutdown that sources reported lasted for a number of weeks.

After other planned maintenance work, the plant was reported to have come back on stream only two weeks ago.

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By: Alex Davis
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