Explosion at Shell’s Scotford refinery

April 15, 201911:49 AM Reuters

Emergency crews responded to an explosion and fire at Shell’s Scotford refinery in Alberta on Monday, a company spokeswoman said. There were no reported injuries.

The Scotford facility houses a 100,000 barrel-per-day refinery and a 255,000 bpd oil sands upgrader.

Local media reported flames and a large plume of black smoke coming from the refinery.

Shell spokeswoman Tara Lemay said the fire broke out around 8:45 a.m. local time and employees were being moved away from the incident as a safety precaution. Roadblocks have been set up at the entrances to the Scotford site and on roads nearby. read more

“Contract workers at Shell Nigeria are living in poverty, with no job security and poor healthcare that is costing workers’ lives. Contract workers face dismissal if they join a union or ask for a pay rise. They lack safety equipment and risk death in the field.”

Published by John Williams, Digital Assistant Editor
LNG Industry, Friday, 15 March 2019 11:04

Royal Dutch Shell violations against contract workers in Nigeria came under scrutiny at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Royal Dutch Shell violations against contract workers in Nigeria came under scrutiny today at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a joint statement to the General Assembly of the Human Rights Council, IndustriALL Global Union and Swiss organisation, Europe-Third World Center (CETIM), said: read more

$165K Settlement Reached With Shell Oil Over Refinery Violations in 2015, 2016

By Bay City News: Published Mar 14, 2019

The Shell Oil Company has agreed to pay $165,000 as part of an agreement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District regarding air quality violations at their refinery in Martinez in 2015 and 2016, according to air district officials.

The settlement, which the district announced today, addresses 16 violations over two years including sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide emissions, a shelter-in-place order, a cargo vessel tank that was overdue for emissions inspections and broken seals on a liquid storage tank. read more

Peter Milne: The West Australian: Saturday, 9 February 2019 1:13AM

Shell has struggled through a series of safety missteps as it readies its cutting-edge Prelude floating LNG vessel for production.

Shell reported 17 incidents to the offshore safety regulator NOPSEMA between May and October 2018 that the regulator classified as dangerous occurrences.

The reports, obtained by WestBusiness through a freedom of information request, show the challenges facing hundreds of WA workers that have helicoptered about 500km back and forth between Broome and the 488m-long giant since it arrived from South Korea in July 2017.

One difficulty with floating LNG vessels is that an LNG carrier must berth alongside as the two vessels bob about in the sea, unlike floating oil production facilities that offload oil to a tanker a safe distance away through long flexible hoses.

In early May 2018 Shell tried to bring the LNG carrier Gallina alongside.

A tow rope to a tug failed when the 290m-long carrier was just 50m from Prelude and the operation had to be aborted.

That problem was caused by a tow rope that was incorrectly assembled.

Nine days later something as trivial as wrongly shaped plastic thwarted another attempt to load LNG on to Prelude.

It was thought the Gallina was safely secured to the Prelude by 16 mooring lines that ran through guides on the Prelude called fairleads. As the crew prepared to connect the LNG loading arms a mooring line failed and the Gallina was released and pulled away.

Afterwards it was found that all 16 lines had been significantly damaged by rubbing against sharp edges of nylon liners in the fairleads.

This seemingly trifling detail could have caused a “complete mooring failure” with “potential for serious consequences” if it had occurred later while LNG was being transferred.

Two weeks later the Gallina successfully offloaded its LNG and Prelude had gas to power itself and test its processing plant.

However, having gas on board the Prelude increased the risks Shell had to manage.

A flange leaked near the LNG loading arms as super-cold -162C LNG sitting at the bottom of a pipe caused it to contract and bend.

Another type of gas, hydrogen sulphide, was released when construction debris from the Korean shipyard was being removed from a tank and the area was evacuated.

In July a fire damper intended to keep gas from entering the air-conditioning system for the accommodation quarters failed to close when tested but was repaired quickly.

In August, Prelude lost all its power supply when a pump sending water to a gas-fired boiler tripped.

All workers on the Prelude and the attached 750-bed Posh Arcadia floating hotel went to their muster stations as the diesel emergency generators powered up to supply essential services.

But a transformer failed and the system to cover the deck with firefighting foam was left without power and unable to operate.

Other problems included a test of a system to cover the top of LNG tanks with a deluge of water in an emergency that found it delivered only half the planned amount of water as the system used undersized valves.

There was a small fire when dust in an oxygen cylinder valve ignited, leading to a muster of all personnel.

Newly installed insulation on a hot high-pressure steam line was seen smouldering and when the insulation was pulled away it caught fire. The insulation had been secured by combustible tape.

A Shell spokeswoman said the company had a rigorous program on Prelude to identify and manage risk in a controlled way.

“It is not unexpected for issues to arise during this phase of a project and it is standard practice to notify NOPSEMA,” she said. “We are proud of our safety and reporting culture.”

She said Shell encouraged workers to raise safety concerns.

TEETHING PROBLEMS

2017

July: Prelude arrives from Korea

2018

May: Tow line to tug fails, mooring lines fail

June: LNG loaded onto Prelude, gas leak, flood detection not working

July: Hydrogen sulfide leak, flooded machinery room, fire dampers did not close

August: No power to fire-fighting foam

September: Smouldering insulation

October: Small fire

December: 750-bed accommodation vessel for additional workers leaves, wells opened and gas flows to Prelude.

2019

February: Preparing for first export of condensate

SOURCE

RELATED

The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects. read more

MELBOURNE, Feb. 5, 

Crux has long been considered a likely second phase to Shell’s $16.6-billion (Aus.) Prelude development that has recently been brought on stream via the world’s largest FLNG vessel permanently moored in the field.

Initially the hook-up was not envisioned for many years, as a back-fill when production of gas from Prelude began to decline late next decade. A development plan recently submitted to Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety & Management Authority (NOPSEMA), however, outlines the start of front-end engineering and design work for Crux later this year leading to a final investment decision in 2020. read more

Shell’s Prelude floating LNG project has taken longer than expected to start up.  Shell Australia

By Angela Macdonald-Smith: 01 Feb 2019

Energy giant Shell has brushed off persistent talk about technical problems dogging the start-up of the huge Prelude floating LNG project off Australia’s far north-west coast but has signalled the first LNG cargo from the closely watched venture may still be several weeks away.

The multinational announced the beginning of production from the offshore Prelude gas field in late December but is still in the process of commissioning the complex LNG processing systems on board what is the world’s largest floating structure. read more

Shell’s Pulau Bukom industrial site in western Singapore. (Photo: AFP)

08 Jan 2019 04:54PM (Updated: 08 Jan 2019 05:00PM)

SINGAPORE: Oil giant Shell has been fined S$400,000 for a fire which broke out at a petroleum refinery on Pulau Bukom in 2015, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Tuesday (Jan 8). 

The fire left six workers injured, including two with critical injuries after they suffered 50 per cent and 70 per cent burns.

On Aug 21, 2015, two groups of workers were simultaneously conducting maintenance and project works on a crude distillation unit at the refinery, said the ministry. read more

Ben van Beurden Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

The boss of oil giant Shell has admitted he is “still unhappy” with the firm’s safety performance, despite pledging a redoubling of efforts in 2018.

Written by David McPhee – 07/01/2019 1:03 pm

Chief executive, Ben van Beurden, raised a call to redouble the firm’s focus on safety last year after a number of serious incidents in 2017.

An overturned tanker spill and explosion in Pakistan caused the tragic death of 200 people, while there were also fatalities in Canada and Nigeria.

Mr van Beurden added he is also focusing on restoring trust in the oil firm.

He said: “I’m still unhappy with our safety performance. read more

• Author Andrew Toh    Wanda Wang    Eric Yep
• Editor Wendy Wells
• 03 Jan 2019 | 07:14 UTC

Singapore — Shell will load the first condensate cargo from Australia’s Prelude FLNG project at end January, according to shipping reports and sources Thursday.

The condensate will be loaded in a 80,000 mt clip over January 31 to February 2, shipping reports showed.

A vessel has not been fixed for the cargo, and shipbrokers said Shell began looking for an Aframax tanker to load the cargo Thursday.

Shell did not immediately respond to an email query seeking comment.

The destination of the cargo is unclear, though trade sources have said that the oil major will likely use the cargo within its own network of splitters and refineries. read more

Shell’s giant Prelude floating LNG vessel is edging closer to production as the accommodation vessel that housed up to 750 workers over the year moves away to allow the final stages of start-up to occur.

The Posh Arcadia accommodation vessel sailed to a station about 6km north of Prelude on Thursday morning, according to vessel tracking website MarineTraffic.

A Shell spokeswoman said the company continued to prepare Prelude for operations. “We expect to see production around the end of the year,” she said. read more

14 December 2018

About 180 jobs are at risk after energy giant Shell announced the closure of two fire-damaged chemical units within an oil refinery in Cheshire.

The positions at Stanlow in Ellesmere Port are in question following a blaze at the site in August, which damaged the units.

Shell said the cost of fixing the damage was “not economically viable”,

The two chemical plants at the site are owed by Shell but are run under a management agreement by Essar Oil UK.

Essar Oil UK employs over 900 staff, and a further 500 contractors also operate at the refinery. read more

More than 130 workers have been evacuated from a North Sea oil platform after it lost power.

Written by Reporter – 29/11/2018

Shell’s Brent Charlie, which is 185km (115 miles) North East of Lerwick, Shetland, contacted HM Coastguard just before 5pm on November 27 reporting that they had lost power and were running on backup batteries.

“The Brent Charlie platform was shut down for maintenance and although the 184 crew were safe and well the platform had limited power, meaning no lighting, heating or water,” said a spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

“With severe incoming weather HM Coastguard and Shell made the decision to ensure the safety of the crew and to declare an emergency situation and evacuate 135 non-essential crew. read more

22 November 2018

The energy giant Shell is to increase the amount of gas processed at a Norfolk terminal by 16% – securing its future for “decades to come”.

The firm has spent £300m updating the plant at Bacton to allow 400 million cubic feet (11,300 litres) of gas to be processed.

“This means we can use the facilities more and reduce operating costs,” Anne O’Halloran, from Shell, said.

This firm is also drilling more wells in the Southern North Sea gas field. read more

By Lauren Berg

Law360 (September 24, 2018, 5:05 PM EDT) — The Golden State Water Co. has accused the Dow Chemical Co., Shell Oil Co. and others of product liability violations for contaminating drinking water with unsafe amounts of TCP, a toxic chemical…

SOURCE

By Amanda Cooper, Shadia Nasralla: AUGUST 22, 2018

* All staff evacuated – fire services

* Shell-owned chemical plant operated by Essar

* Scale of fire unclear – fire services

In spite of everything hurled by the North Sea and global market conditions across half a century, and despite predictions to the contrary, Shell remains a big player on the UK Continental Shelf.

Energy Voice interviewed Shell UK upstream vice president Steve Phimister aboard the Shearwater platform.

Written by Jeremy Cresswell – 15/08/2018 6:00 am

A characteristic throughout has been a quest to lead.

Driving Shell forward is VP Upstream President Steve Phimister who, by coincidence, was born the same year as Shell’s UKCS odyssey began 50 years ago.

The super-major has lived through boom times followed by harsh periods when commodity prices were in the basement and, from the late 1990s, speculation grew as to whether such companies had a future in the North Sea. read more

REUTERS STAFF: AUGUST 12, 2018 / 11:12 PM

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The heavy oil hydrocracking unit (HCU) at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (RDSa.AS) 209,787 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery was shut after a fire early on Sunday, sources familiar with plant operations said.

The fire broke out on the 45,000 bpd HCU, call the H-Oil Unit, at about 1:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Sunday, the sources said.

A Shell spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

No injuries were reported due to the blaze, the sources said. read more

Written by Allister Thomas and Chris Jaffray – 03/08/2018

Shell has been fined £60,000 after a technician was severely injured by a gas cylinder on a North Sea platform.

The incident in November 2014 took place on the Brent Delta installation when a gas cylinder unexpectedly discharged, causing projectiles to strike a worker.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard today that technicians were required to replace a gas cylinder within a system used to extinguish fires on November 9, 2014.

One technician rolled what he thought was an empty cylinder and took off a protective cap, however the cylinder was in fact fully charged which caused an uncontrolled release of gas and a loud bang –  resulting in the technician dropping the cylinder which caused the valve to shear, with projectiles severely injuring a second technician. read more

Shell announced last year that it was disposing of its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib gas field to a unit of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in an €830 million deal, resulting in about €1 billion of losses. The decision was announced just over 18 months after first gas finally flowed from the field 83km off the Mayo coast, after over a decade of opposition…

Lorna Siggins Western Correspondent: Wed, Aug 1, 2018

An investigation by the State’s energy regulator into the release of non-odourised gas from the Corrib gas refinery in north Mayo last year says it was caused by the upgrading of an information technology (IT) system.

“Deficiencies” in Shell E&P Ireland’s (SEPIL) operating procedures led to the incident last September, but there were no safety consequences for staff at the Corrib gas refinery or members of the public “in the immediate vicinity”, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has found. read more

BY MAREX 2018-06-11 12:58:00

Shell’s giant floating liquefied natural gas plant (FLNG), the Prelude, moved closer to production last week when she received a cool-down cargo from the LNG carrier Gallina.

The 70,000 dwt Gallina transferred a load of LNG to the Prelude on Wednesday and Thursday as the plant prepares for commissioning. It was the first time that Prelude has had an LNG carrier alongside to test the plant’s sophisticated loading arms.

Prelude is now testing its systems in preparation for first gas from Shell’s Prelude field, which holds an estimated three trillion cubic feet of natural gas (in combination with the adjacent Concerto field). Royal Dutch Shell hopes to begin generating revenue from the multi-billion-dollar project sometime this year. read more

A quarter of Shell shareholders turned on Ben Van Beurden after he pocketed €8.9m (£7.8m)

Jillian Ambrose: 22 MAY 2018 • 2:02PM

The boss of Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a bruising shareholder revolt after more than a quarter of its investors voted against his multi-million euro payout for last year.

Ben Van Beurden pocketed €8.9m (£7.8m) for 2017 after trebling the company’s profits to $12.1bn (£9bn) as the oil giant staged an impressive recovery from a crash in prices.

But shareholders took against the FTSE 100 boss after an accident in Pakistan last year claimed the lives of more than 200 people in an explosion of a fuel tanker operated by one of the energy giant’s subsidiaries. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will face difficult questions at its annual general meeting next week after an investor-advisory group urged shareholders to challenge executive pay and the company’s response to a fatal accident in Pakistan. 

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., an influential adviser on corporate governance, has recommended investors reject Shell’s pay report at its AGM on May 22, saying it was initially “silent” on the Pakistan incident. ISS also said it could only offer “qualified support” to the re-election of the independent director looking after corporate social responsibility.  read more

By City & Finance Reporter for the Daily Mail: PUBLISHED: 21:51, 13 May 2018 | UPDATED: 21:51, 13 May 2018

The boss of oil giant Shell is facing the threat of a revolt over his £7.8million pay packet.

Institutional Shareholders Services, a leading investor advisory group, is recommending that Ben van Beurden’s pay is voted down at the annual general meeting later this month.

ISS said it also wants more information about how the 60-year-old’s bonus was affected by an incident in Pakistan in 2016, when a fuel tanker operated by a Shell Pakistan contractor exploded, killing more than 200 people. read more

By Kevin Keane: BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent: 26 April 2018

The Health and Safety Executive has written to all oil and gas operators expressing concern about the number of gas releases in the industry.

The regulator said some had come “perilously close to disaster” and that more needed to be done to tackle them.

The HSE said a “lack of leadership” was often to blame for leaks, and called for firms to review their processes.

Operators have until July to respond with a summary of their planned improvements.

The HSE has written to operators ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster. The platform exploded in July 1988, leaving 167 men dead. read more

The firm also drew attention to a number of safety incidents in 2017 which it is working to address and provide support to victims for, including oil spills and theft in Nigeria, earthquakes in Groningen and a road tanker disaster in Pakistan.

Written by Allister Thomas – 09/04/2018 1:12 pm

The company has published the findings in a report to accommodate UK regulations requiring transparency on government payments.

It includes payments in 29 countries where Shell operates and does not include details related to refining, natural gas liquefaction, or gas-to-liquids activities which are not in the scope of UK regulations.

Shell made the largest contribution to Nigeria, paying over £3billion last year, while the smallest sum went to Bulgaria at £109million.

The funds for Nigeria include the government’s production entitlement, covering more than £2.1billion. read more

The UK’s workplace safety watchdog has reprimanded Shell following a gas leak on the Brent Bravo platform in November.

Written by Mark Lammey – 17/01/2018 11:38 am

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Shell has failed to “prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable or explosive substances”.

Its inspector accused the oil major of failing to ensure valves on the rig were kept in “efficient working order and in good repair”.

Shell has been given until March 8 to comply with the improvement notice.

A spokesman for Shell UK said: “Shell UK can confirm that we were issued with an HSE improvement notice on 8^th December 2017 in relation to a small hydrocarbon release on our Brent Bravo platform in the North Sea. read more

Written by Mark Lammey – 03/01/2018 12:00 pm

Energy giant Shell has been ordered to improve its safety procedures at the St Fergus plant near Peterhead.

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the company had failed to made “adequate arrangements” to ensure that “emergency shutdown and emergency depressurisation valve actuators” were maintained in an “efficient state and effective working order”.

HSE initially gave Shell until December 21 to comply with the improvement notice, but the deadline has now been extended to February 28.

A spokeswoman for Shell said: “We can confirm that we have been issued with an improvement notice on 23^rd November 2017 in relation to the maintenance of emergency shutdown valves at our St Fergus plant in North East Scotland. read more

By MarEx  18 December 2017

Shell has launched an investigation after a lifeboat accidentally “descended” from the aging Brent Alpha platform during maintenance.

A Shell spokesperson said that on Saturday morning, a mechanical failure occurred during routine maintenance, “allowing [the lifeboat] to descend into the sea.” The BBC reports that the lifeboat davit’s clutch slipped during work on the boat. No injuries were reported, and the boat was recovered the following day. read more

REUTERS STAFF: 18 DECEMBER 2017

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Three offshore oil workers filed a lawsuit against units of Royal Dutch Shell and Enbridge, seeking $1 million in damages for injuries they allegedly received during a Nov. 8 fire on a U.S. Gulf of Mexico production platform.

The suit, filed in Galveston County court in Texas on Dec. 5, claims safety lapses on Shell’s Enchilada platform caused severe injuries to the three. The complaint seeks more than $1 million in damages from Shell International Exploration and Production, Shell Offshore, and Garden Banks Gas Pipeline Co, a unit of Enbridge, which owns a gas pipeline connected to the platform. read more

Shell’s Enchilada platform, sitting atop Garden Banks Block 128 in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, caught fire early Wednesday (Nov. 8), injuring two workers. This map shows the location, outlined in yellow.

The lawsuit claims Shell and the pipeline operator were negligent or grossly negligent, failing to maintain a safe work environment…

Updated Dec 15, 9:54 PM; Posted Dec 15, 9:53 PM

By Jennifer Larino: [email protected] NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Three workers injured in a November fire on Shell’s Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico are suing the oil and gas company in a Texas county court. The suit claims Shell, its Gulf of Mexico subsidiary and a pipeline operator “acted with flagrant and malicious disregard” for the health and safety of the workers leading up to the incident. read more

By Neanda Salvaterra: December 12, 2017: Dow Jones Newswires

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said on Tuesday it has suspended production on two offshore oil and gas platforms following the shutdown of a major European oil transport node.

The British-Dutch oil giant confirmed that it has halted the flow of oil and gas from its Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea as a result of the shutdown of the Forties Pipeline System owned by Ineos, a refining and chemicals company. read more

REUTERS STAFF: DECEMBER 11, 2017 

SINGAPORE, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said a fire at its Singapore refinery-petrochemical site was extinguished on Sunday and no one was hurt in the incident.

The fire occurred at one of its manufacturing units on Bukom Island at about 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) and was extinguished shortly after by the site’s firefighters, a company spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.

Shell was investigating the cause of the incident and did not expect any impact on its customers, she said. read more

CATHERINE GRIWKOWSKY: 15 November 2017

One person was injured and the Shell Scotford site was evacuated for several hours after a heavy oil mixture leak on Wednesday afternoon.

The “hydrocarbon release” happened around 12:30 p.m. inside a processing unit at the Scotford Facility near Fort Saskatchewan, according to a statement sent by Tara Lemay on behalf of Shell. The all-clear was sounded at 6:30 p.m.

One person reported a minor injury and all non-essential personnel were moved off-site as a precaution, the statement said. All personnel were accounted for. read more

Emergency crews were called to respond to a hydrocarbon release at a Shell Canada’s Scotford upgrader facility northeast of Fort Saskatchewan on Wednesday afternoon. Craig Ryan/ Global News

By Phil HeidenreichOnline journalist  Global News

Emergency crews were called to respond to a hydrocarbon release at a Shell Canada facility northeast of Fort Saskatchewan on Wednesday afternoon.

The company said the incident unfolded at its Scotford upgrader facility which processes crude bitumen. Late Wednesday afternoon, Shell confirmed an alarm was sounded and personnel were “relocated away from the incident as a safety precaution.” read more

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) released a statement today about the impact on its operations resulting from a fire at the Shell Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell advised in a statement on Nov. 12 that a plan for repairing the damaged portions of the asset is being developed. All production coming into the Garden Banks Gas Pipeline system also remains shut in until further notice.

Hess production is shut in at its Baldpate, Conger and Penn State Fields. Production is also shut in at the Shell-operated Llano Field (Hess 50 percent interest). Hess production at these fields is approximately 30 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. read more

By Carlie Kollath Wells: [email protected]: NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune: 8 November 2017

Two people were injured Wednesday morning (Nov. 8) in a fire on a Shell oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said. The remaining 46 workers were safely evacuated.

A Shell spokesman said the fire happened at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on its Enchilada platform at Garden Banks 128. Shell said it had identified the source of the fire and was “actively responding to the situation.” read more

Offshore workers were exposed to the risk of fire and explosion after blunder led to a gas leak on a southern North Sea installation.

Written by Alan Shields – 11/10/2017 12:27 pm

The uncontrolled release took place on the Barque PB, a normally unmanned platform, on July 19.

Around 138kg of flammable hydrocarbon gas was released from pipework connected to the vessel V2000, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

A subsequent probe found that flammable gas had been used to leak test the pipework instead of inert nitrogen gas – which was available.

Failings were found in the arrangements for the effective planning, organising and control for the reinstatement of the pipework. read more

By Dan Molinski Published October 03, 2017: Dow Jones Newswires

Royal Dutch Shell reported a leak and emissions Tuesday at its Deer Park, Texas refinery and chemical plant.

“A leak was found on the bottom of debutanizer distillation column. The cause of the leak is still under investigation,” the refinery said in a statement to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It added that it was “reducing feed rate to unit to minimize emissions.”

Deer Park is located along the Houston Ship Channel, 20 miles east of downtown Houston. The facility includes a 326,000-barrel-a-day refinery. read more

Flaring and excessive black smoke pouring into the night sky after explosion and uncontrolled shutdown

By Greg Fischer Editor-in-chief: Sep 26, 2017

Around 8 p.m. on Tuesday night a huge flash could be seen in the sky in the direction of the St. James Motiva plant on Highway 44 and Highway 70.

Many people shared sightings of the explosion on social media. The St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office has stated that a transformer exploded, causing an electrical fire at an Entergy substation near the plant.

The substation is the main electrical source for the plant, commonly called Motiva. Entergy has reached out to clarify that the transformer is owned by the Shell Convent Refinery. read more

NEWS FROM JULY 2, 2015 RELEVANT TO RECENT EVENTS

Oil giant Shell was today fined over £6,000 after a diesel leak on board the same North Sea platform where two workers died 12 years ago.

Sean McCue, 22, and Keith Moncrieff, 45, lost their lives when they were overcome by gas while working on the energy firm’s Brent Bravo rig in 2003.

The oil company was previously fined nearly one million pounds admitting safety breaches which led to their deaths.

Yesterday Shell UK bosses returned to the court after approximately 13 to 15 tonnes of diesel spilled into the North Sea despite warnings over the transfer system going back over a decade. read more

AUGUST 30, 2017 / 6:16 PM

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) staff have returned to a major oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico in preparation to restart production one week after its shutdown due to Hurricane Harvey, industry sources said on Wednesday.

A small team was airlifted to the Perdido platform and is currently assessing conditions to understand when production can be resumed, the sources said.

Perdido, operated by Shell, was shut down on Aug. 23 ahead of Hurricane Harvey’s arrival. The hub, the second deepest in the Gulf of Mexico, normally produces around 100,000 barrels per day of oil and gas. read more

Upstreamonline.com reports 30 Aug 2017…

Shell has been served with more safety warnings over a gas leak in May at its Brent Charlie facility in the UK northern North Sea, which is only now beginning a gradual restart of production.

A Shell spokesperson told Upstream on Wednesday that the facility commenced a gradual restart at the weekend and is fully up-manned.

Free access to article subject to Upstreamonline.com terms

Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle: 27 August 2017

Royal Dutch Shell said Sunday the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey is causing the shutdown of its massive refining and petrochemical complex in Deer Park.

Shell is closing one of Texas’ largest refineries, which can refine more than 315,000 barrels of crude oil a day into gasoline and other petroleum products.

“The top priority of Shell Deer Park is to operate in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Due to continued inclement weather conditions from Hurricane Harvey, Shell Deer Park is conducting a controlled/planned shut down of the refinery and chemical plant,” Shell said in an email response. read more

AUGUST 27, 2017

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Sunday it has not yet been able to assess damage to its deepwater Perdido platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after evacuating it ahead of Tropical Storm Harvey, which came ashore as a hurricane.

The company scrapped plans on Saturday to send a reconnaissance flight over the platform, about 200 miles (321 km) south of Freeport, Texas, said spokesman Curtis Smith. A second flight will be attempted on Sunday.

Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sandra Maler read more

According to Reuters, oil and gas companies, including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, have halted production and are evacuating employees from their facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Posted By Alex Zielinski on Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 2:50 pm

What was a mere “tropical depression” on Wednesday has quickly turned into a grown-ass, potentially life-threatening hurricane. The National Hurricane Center has now predicted that Hurricane Harvey, the storm brewing the the Gulf of Mexico, will the Texas shores Friday night with 125 mph winds, drenching the coastline from Corpus Christi east to the Louisiana border with up to 2 feet of rain.

The NHC predicts Bexar County will be hit with up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend, and the county’s officially under a flash flood warning. Monica Ramos, a county spokeswoman, said that public works crews are preparing for heavy flooding  — especially in the city’s south side — by  monitoring creeks, drainage ways, and low water crossings as the storm grows near. read more

Australia’s $180 bln LNG megaproject boom enters final stretch

* Shell, Inpex race to tap gas in adjacent fields

* Ichthys LNG targets first output by March 2018

* Prelude FLNG seen starting between April and July

* Australia on course to 88 mln T/yr LNG export capacity

By Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, Aug 14 (Reuters) – The last massive component of Australia’s $180 billion liquefied natural gas construction boom arrived on Monday, stepping up a race between Anglo-Dutch giant Shell and Japan’s Inpex to start chilling gas for export in 2018.

Company reputations are at stake, as well as first access to overlapping gas fields and Australia leapfrogging Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG.

The Ichthys Venturer, a floating production, storage and offloading facility, travelled 5,600 km (3,500 miles) from a South Korean shipyard and will be moored 220 km off Western Australia to handle condensate from the Ichthys field. read more

December 19th, 2013, Norco Louisiana, A flare from the Shell Refinery illuminates the sky. 

Published August 07, 2017 Dow Jones Newswires

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Monday that a fire over the weekend at its Norco refining and chemicals facility in Louisiana has forced it to shut down a unit.

“There is no timetable for the restart of the unit,” Shell said in an emailed statement, without identifying the specific unit. “Operations are stable. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, we do not provide details about the operational status of individual units or information on supply.” read more

Written by Alan Shields – 02/08/2017 10:09 am

Royal Dutch Shell has been served a prohibition notice over the potential for “fire and explosion” on the Brent Charlie platform.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the supermajor had failed to act under the Offshore Prevention of Fire regulations.

The watchdog said the breach related to the possibility of an uncontrolled release of flammable or explosive hydrocarbons from safety critical pipework in the Column Four leg.

The breach was recorded back in May, with the prohibition notice served at the end of the month. read more

“Shell is in the process of shutting down all the units at the site,” a company spokesman said, as cited by AFP. He added that the process might last for “hours, or even several days.”

Taking all “necessary precautions,” the company said it estimates that “loadings at depot Pernis will be interrupted until and including tomorrow.”

Firefighters succeed in dousing the flames by Sunday morning at around 6:00am [0400 GMT].

However, flashes at the plant could be still seen Sunday evening, as mangement decided to launch a flaring process to burn off excess natural gas in accordance with safety guidelines. read more

RON BOUSSO: JULY 30, 2017 / 8:45 PM

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell suspended loadings of oil products from its Pernis refinery in the Netherlands following a fire at the plant, the company said in a statement to traders on Sunday.

Shell shut down most of its production at Pernis, Europe’s largest refinery, after the fire at the 404,000 barrels per day plant late on Saturday caused a power outage.

The company said that no casualties were reported in the incident and the fire was under control, but it expected loadings to be suspended on Monday as well. read more