Energy giant Shell has been fined £40,000 for breaching climate pollution rules at the Mossmorran Chemical plant in Fife.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) imposed the fine after Shell broke regulation on reporting emissions at the site between 2013 and 2015.
Shell operates a plant at the site in Fife to process thousands of tonnes of North Sea gas per day.
The company had under reported propane unit volumes by approximately 0.5% of total plant volumes over the three-year period.
EU rules mean the firm is obliged to report its climate pollution.
A note on the Sepa website states: “Failure to comply with condition 4 of a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permit.
“The operator did not surrender sufficient allowances to cover its annual reportable emissions from the installation at Fife NGL Plant by 30 April 2013, 30 April 2014 and 30 April 2015.
“Penalty £40,056.00”
Shell said it reported the issue as soon as it was identified in March of 2017 and wrote a letter to the local community on Thursday July 12 explaining the issue and apologising for the technical error.
The firm said that Sepa had recognised its proactive identification and notification on the issue.
A spokeswoman for Shell UK said: “Earlier this year, Shell identified an issue with a historical emissions reporting calculation, corrected the calculation and immediately disclosed updated data to SEPA to rectify the error. We very much regret this situation.
“Shell prioritises the safety of our staff, community and care for the environment. The inadvertent reporting error had no impact on actual levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the plant.”
