By Nicholas Comfort
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europes largest oil company, said a railway boiler wagon spilled a bitumen-like oil by-product after leaving the Heide refinery in the northern German town of Hemmingstedt.
The heated container tipped over and released some of its 50 metric tons of the viscous substance at 12:50 p.m. central European time yesterday, company spokesman Axel Pommeraenke said today by telephone from Hamburg. The incident didnt disrupt rail travel to and from Shells refinery, he added.
The non-toxic liquid, which is shipped at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit), hardened as it seeped out and poses no danger to people or wildlife, according to officials at Shell and state railway operator Deutsche Bahn AG. The trains 10 remaining wagons were sent to a plant in Brunsbuettel, about 33 kilometers (21 miles) further south, where their contents will be used to make fertilizer, Pommeraenke said.
The damage to the wagon, railway bed and a crossing totals 150,000 euros ($213,140), local police said in a statement on their Web site yesterday. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn declined to comment on the figure and asked not to be named, citing company policy. Shell is insured for the damage to the wagon, Pommeraenke said.
The spilled product can still be used once its retrieved after the wagon cools, Pommeraenke said. The delay in supply wont affect production at the fertilizer plant, he added.
Deutsche Bahns recovery crews wont be able to salvage the substance until the beginning of next year, the companys spokeswoman said, declining to be more specific.
The Heide refinery can process 91,000 barrels of oil a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at[email protected]
Last Updated: December 30, 2008 06:55 EST
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