The price of diesel at the pump should not immediately jump on the back of two incidents in as many days at a Shell refinery in the Netherlands.
A fire broke out at the supermajor’s Pernis operations over the weekend, resulting in the closure of the plants and the flaring of excess gases.
But just as the situation appeared to be returning to normal on Monday night, an acid leak was detected.
The hydrogen fluoride appeared during rinse work. The leak has now been stemmed.
Shell say no hazardous concentrations of the substance have been measured outside our site.
Fears were sparked last night however that the continued shutdown of the plant would result in a price hike at the pump.
Earlier this month European diesel refining margins rose to their highest since November 2005 as tighter supplies and strong demand gave the market a boost.
However motoring group the AA put the rumour to rest that this would have any short term impact on consumer prices.
A spokesman said: “Diesel price per tonne has been rising steadily since last week.
“We are seeing some tightening of supplies but there is still an abundance of supply.”
Shell is now in “close consultation” with emergency services and the relevant safety authorities.
In a statement Shell said: ” Both incidents are being investigated.
“At present, the refinery is out of business; The damage in the power station must be repaired before the refinery can be rebooted step by step.
“The Shell refinery is the largest in Europe and temporarily out of business has potential consequences for our customers.
“We expect the factories to be restarted at the earliest in the second half of August. This is, of course, annoying, but we are committed to minimizing the consequences for our customers.”