oil refinery

Royal Dutch Shell has temporarily shut down most units at its oil refinery in the Netherlands after a fire at an electricity switch station. No one was injured and the source of the blaze at the Pernis facility in Rotterdam, Europe’s largest oil refinery, has yet to be determined. The fire at the facility – […]

A fire broke out at a refinery and petrochemical plant in China this morning, it has been reported. Located near Lanzhou city in the northwest province of Gansu, the facility is said to be owned by oil and gas firm PetroChina. Reports suggest the fire was triggered by a leakage but has been put out […]

Rebels in Iraq have reportedly gained full control of the nation’s main oil refinery in Baiji in the northern province of Salahuddin. It had been under siege for 10 days and Iraqi security forces have been battling the rebels over the control of the facility, which is said to supply nearly a third of Iraq’s […]

Iraq’s largest oil refinery was attacked by insurgents yesterday prompting crude oil prices to tremble close to a 52-week high. Video footage appeared to show smoke rising from the Baiji oil refinery as ISIS militants crept closer to the capital Baghdad. Iraq’s army claimed it drove off the attackers however conflicting reports suggested a large […]

The owners of the Grangemouth oil refinery and petrochemical site have shut the plant down and said it will remain closed until Tuesday at least. The news comes hours after Unite union members called off a 48-hour planned strike despite not resolving the dispute over the treatment of a convener following 16 hours of negotiation. […]

The Unite union has called off a planned strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery and petrochemical site (pictured). The move follows 16 hours of negotiation between union members and representatives from INEOS, the site owner as they failed to resolve the row over the treatment of a union convenor. Members from the union were due […]

A walk-out at Scotland’s sole petrochemical refinery looms after Unite union members began limited industrial action yesterday. From midnight on Monday workers at Grangemouth (pictured) began their protest which falls short of a strike – including a ban on overtime – after 81% of Unite members who voted were in favour of it in at […]

Britain’s dependency on foreign markets and its inability to meet the nation’s oil and road fuel needs is a “potential time bomb”. A new report by business advisory firm Deloitte for the RAC Foundation suggests the UK’s 35 million drivers are “at the mercy” of international traders as ageing oil refineries are unable to meet […]

Almost 100,000 tons of pollution released in Texas between 2009-2011 were from “accidents” in oil and gas refineries, according to a new study. The report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found “non-routine emission events” at chemical plants and refineries released a combined total of more than 42,000 tons of sulphur dioxide (SO2), which is […]

The survival of Coryton oil refinery in Essex looked more secure today after Energy Minister Charles Hendry said there are still “strong levels of interest” from buyers. Coryton’s future was thrown into doubt after its parent company filed for insolvency last month. Today after a third meeting of interested parties was attended by local politicians, […]