Fire still burning at Shell Singapore refinery
Baku, September 29 (AZERTAC). A fire continues to burn on Thursday at Royal Dutch Shell's largest refinery, its half a million barrels per day Singapore plant, but the blaze is under control, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement.
The fire hit the plant on an island off Singapore's shores on Wednesday, forcing Shell to close down a hydrocracking unit that helps make diesel fuel as a safety measure.
"Fire fighting operations are still underway at the affected area," the SCDF said in the statement. "There are currently about 100 SCDF fire fighters fighting the fire with 6 fire engines and 13 support vehicles. About 250 essential Shell personnel are also on Pulau Bukom."
Shell could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday. 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 accounts for more than a third of the island nation's total refining capacity, were running at reduced capacity, Shell said on Wednesday. ID:nL3E7KS1IC]
Production units at the refinery near the blaze were shut as a precaution. In the process of the shutdown, Shell said that 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 sustained a superficial injury, and five other firefighters had heat exhaustion and pulled muscle, the company said.
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