Alvina Soh Channel NewsAsia 29 Oct 12;
SINGAPORE: Shell Eastern Petroleum was fined $80,000 on Monday for safety lapses that caused a fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom oil refinery in September last year.
The oil giant was found guilty of one count under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
On 28 September 2011, a fire broke out at a pump house at Shell's oil refinery, and spread rapidly with multiple explosions.
The Ministry of Manpower's investigations revealed that the fire was caused by lapses such as an accumulation of flammable vapours and static charges.
Shell used an open draining method during a process called de-oiling, which is used in pipeline maintenance.
This caused flammable vapours to be released into the air, which posed the risk of ignition.
The Ministry added that Shell did not deploy portable gas monitors, which would have alerted staff to dangerous levels of flammable gases.
The fire was fully extinguished the next day after 32 hours of fire-fighting.
Although there were no serious injuries, the pump house was badly damaged and the Bukom refinery had to be temporarily shut down.
In mitigation, Shell, which is represented by WongPartnership, said that it has since "worked closely with the authorities to implement enhanced safety systems", to prevent future incidences.
For failing to ensure the safety of its processes and the premises itself, Shell could be fined up to $500,000 if convicted under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
- CNA/de
Shell fined $80k for work safety lapses
Straits Times 30 Oct 12;
OIL giant Shell was fined $80,000 yesterday for lapses in workplace safety that led to a 32-hour fire at the company's Pulau Bukom oil refinery in September last year.
Court papers stated that while draining a pipeline, its contractors had used a method that allowed flammable gases to accumulate in the air.
The pipeline was connected to a tank of naphtha, a volatile liquid, and passed through a pump house where petroleum products were mixed. The contractors had used metal trays to collect the naphtha flowing out of the tank.
Prosecutors from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that the release of naphtha in this manner not only allowed volatile vapours to escape but also led to an accumulation of static charges, which might have produced a spark to ignite the naphtha vapours.
MOM said Shell had also failed to deploy sufficient portable gas monitors that would have detected the dangerous levels of flammable vapours.
However, prosecutors noted that Shell did conduct a total of five tests with portable gas monitors before the fire broke out at about 1pm on Sept 28. It was put out around 9pm the next day.
Shell had pleaded guilty earlier this month. Its lawyer Christopher de Souza had then argued that before the incident, there was no industry-wide MOM directive which indicated that the methods used by the contractors were unsafe in certain instances.
MOM said the fine of $80,000 is the highest meted out to a company involved in an accident without fatalities or injuries.
MOM is also reviewing the involvement of the two Shell contractors - Mun Siong Engineering and Weishen Industrial Services.
Shell, whose Bukom refinery is its largest worldwide, could have been fined up to $500,000.
KHUSHWANT SINGH
