Welcome Guest   |  Login   |   Signup
JG Logo
Sat, May 26, 2012
Archive Search

Fire Forces Shell to Shut Singapore Hub
Luke Pachymuthu & Yaw Yan Chong | September 29, 2011

Smoke and flames continued to gush out of Royal Dutch Shell’s Pulau Bukom offshore petroleum complex in Singapore on Thursday.  (Reuters Photo) Smoke and flames continued to gush out of Royal Dutch Shell’s Pulau Bukom offshore petroleum complex in Singapore on Thursday.  (Reuters Photo)
Share This Page
0
3
0
0
Share with google+ :


Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

Be the first to write your opinion!

Singapore. Royal Dutch Shell has shut most of its 500,000 barrels per day Singapore refinery, sources said, as firefighters struggle to contain a blaze that has burned for more than a day.

The plant is the largest that Shell owns and makes up more than a third of Singapore’s refining capacity. The city-state is Asia’s crude and refined product trading hub and hosts the world’s largest fuel oil market.

Benchmark fuel prices across Asia are based on trade in Singapore, so interruptions in supply can trigger price moves out of proportion with the size of the refinery disruption.

Industry sources said Shell had shut two of its three crude distillation units, including the largest No. 5 unit, with the third running at reduced rates.

A Shell spokesman declined comment on the shutdown or the status of the blaze. The fire has proved difficult to douse, and Shell said it regained in intensity at midday on Thursday, nearly 24 hours after the blaze started.

“At around noon, we experienced a surge in the fire which continues to be contained,” Shell said in a statement. “The source of the fire is remnant light fuel components within the specific area where the fire originated.”

Shell is investigating the cause of the blaze, being tackled by at least 100 firefighters on Bukom island off Singapore.

Sources have said vessels are not berthing at the refinery. One ship owner said his ship had to pull off from the loading berth more than five hours after the fire began as a safety precaution.

“We had to cast off halfway through the loading,” a shipping source said. “Our vessel is sitting at anchorage, waiting for further instructions from Shell’s terminal, but no indication has been given on when we can go back.”

The cost for oil product cargoes for prompt delivery in Singapore’s swaps market surged on Thursday. Traders expected tighter supplies even as Shell said it could keep supplying the market from storage and other refineries.

Reuters