Shell extinguishes olefins unit fire at German site
5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM
A fire broke out on Sunday at Shell's refining and petrochemical complex in Wesseling, Germany, the company confirmed on Monday.
“Yesterday at 2:20 p.m., a fire broke out in a furnace in the Wesseling site of Rhineland Refinery, with strong smoke emissions," a Shell spokesperson said on Monday. "Nobody has been injured."
“The fire was extinguished at 9:11 p.m. Air quality checks conducted by the professional fire brigade were negative,” the spokesperson said.
Local media reports said the fire had broken out in the olefins cracking unit.
“We do not comment on the operational status of affected units,” the spokesperson said. "But to make it clear: [there is] no total shutdown of the Wesseling site.”
The Wesseling cracker has capacity to produce 260,000 tpy of ethylene, according to news reports, while the refinery can process 141,000 bpd.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. An investigation is underway.
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