Royal Dutch Shell has shut down one of the world’s largest oil refineries after a fire broke out at the plant.
Shell Pernis in the Netherlands is Europe’s largest refinery.In addition to oil-processing plants, the company provides housing to Shell’s chemical plants and other companies.
A fire broke out at the plant on Jul 29, causing a power outage.
A Shell spokesman said: “At around 22:30 on July 29, Shell Pernis experienced a power outage due to a fire in a power supply system.
“Shell Pernis has decided to shut down most of its units in a safe and prompt manner, and this has resulted in flaring. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.
“All appropriate agencies were notified and we continue to keep the local community informed. There were no injuries associated with this incident.”
The supermajor confirmed that issues as of July 30 were still “not over yet”.
A statement said: “Due to the lack of electricity supply, we decided to take out most of the factories in a safe and controlled manner, resulting in torches.
“A flame of smoke is visible when flaring This is because we can not burn completely by lack of steam at this time.
“We are always in agreement with the Security Region and DCMR about our plans – including the shutdown and torches.
“The torch causes nuisance to our residents. We understand that this is annoying and we apologize for this.”