Shell shuts down large Singapore refinery after fire
Shell is in the process of shutting down its 500,000 bpd refinery in Pulau Bukom, Singapore, following the recent fire at the facility, company officials said on Thursday.
The fire, which began on Wednesday and may have been started during maintenance work, has been extinguished. However, there are still traces of fuel vapor, according to Shell officials.
Shell said it is standing by with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), with global fire consultants on site to provide input to the team. An in-house global fire expert will also be in Singapore beginning Friday, the company said.
The Pulau Bukom refinery is the largest in the world for Shell in its crude distillation capacity.
Other precautionary measures taken by the company include monitoring the air quality four times per day, shutting down neighbouring units within the vicinity of the fire, isolating the lines and cooling the tanks in the area to prevent entry of any fresh hydrocarbons.
The Pulau Bukom refinery site also has an 800,000 tpy ethylene cracker located nearby. Shell said it was uncertain whether that production would have to be shut.
Closer to the fire, the affected area has lengths of pipelines and connected pumps, and holds a mix of hydrocarbons, the company said. This was the reason for the erratic fire, sometimes waning and sometimes growing.
The smoke observed was from hydrocarbons that were not fully combusted. There were no toxic vapours released, the company said.
Shell said the fire had damaged a pump room site near the tank farm. A full investigation was set to begin soon, officials said.
The fire incident was confined to Pulau Bukom, which is more than five kilometers away from the Singapore mainland.
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