Fire still burns at Shell Singapore refinery

(Picture from asiaone.com)

SINGAPORE - A fire continued to burn on Thursday at Royal Dutch Shell's largest refinery, its 500,000 barrel-a-day Singapore plant, but the blaze is under control, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said.

The fire started in the plant on an island off Singapore's shores on Wednesday, forcing Shell to close a hydrocracking unit that helps make diesel fuel, as a safety measure.

"Fire-fighting operations are still underway," the Singapore Civil Defence (SCDF) said in a statement early on Thursday.

"There are about 100 SCDF fire-fighters fighting the fire with six fire engines and 13 support vehicles. About 250 essential Shell personnel are also on Pulau Bukom."

Shell could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement issued earlier, Shell said the fire had been contained and that it had accounted for all staff.

Crude processing units at the plant, which make up more than a third of the island nation's total refining capacity, were running at a reduced rate, Shell said on Wednesday.

Production units at the refinery near the blaze were shut as a precaution. Shell said in the process of the closure a larger flare would be visible. The flare was no cause for alarm, as no toxic vapours were being released, Shell said.

One Shell firefighter suffered a superficial injury, and five others had heat exhaustion and pulled muscles, it added.

MARKET IMPACT

Since Singapore is the world's largest market for fuel oil and Asia's hub for crude and refined product trading, regional prices could take a hit from any disruptions that might arise from the fire, as some capacity has already been taken offline.

Late on Wednesday, Shell said it would continue to supply Singapore's fuel markets with products from storage and other refineries, so the company expects no shortages in the market.

Refinery sources said the fire occurred where finished oil products are transferred from the final production unit into storage tanks by being pumped through pipelines.
Shell is operating its ethylene cracker normally at the plant. The ethylene cracker is typically fed by products from the hydrocracking unit that was shut due to the fire. The company is supplying alternative feedstock to the ethylene cracker to keep it running, Shell had said.

Shell, one of the biggest naphtha traders and suppliers in Asia, sold an unusually heavy volume of at least 40,000 tonnes of prompt October/November naphtha swaps on Wednesday, traders said.

The smoke plume generated from the fire has not affected Singapore so far, the National Environment Agency said. In a statement it said it was keeping close watch on the situation and asked the public not to be alarmed.

Source: www.asiaone.com