Shell's Singapore Refinery Suffers Second Leak in Three Months

 

For the second time since October, the Shell refinery at Pulau Bukom, Singapore has sprung a leak. This time, a processing unit released oil products into the marine environment via its cooling water system. 

On December 27, Shell told the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) that it had shut down one of its oil processing units at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park at Pulau Bukom because of a suspected leak. The unit in question produces diesel and other refined products, and it uses cooling water from the sea. Shell estimated that several tonnes of refined products reached the water via a cooling water discharge outlet in a confined channel. 

To address the spill, the refinery deployed containment booms and sorbent booms, along with dispersant spray. It also turned on a built-in skimmer system that is permanently installed in the channel, and boomed off the channel inlet to prevent the spread of the spill to the open sea. 

The MPA and Shell also dispatched response boats to clean up light sheening off Pulau Bukom using dispersants and absorbent booms. For now, the agency continues to monitor the area via drone surveillance and satellite imagery. As an extra precaution, absorbant booms were deployed on the popular beaches of Sentosa and at nearby Sisters' Islands Marine Park; however, no slicks have reached these areas so far, and there has been no interruption in public access.  

On December 28, Shell confirmed that the leak was contained and that there was no more petroleum going into the cooling water discharge. The exact source of the leak is still under investigation. 
 
Singapore's NEA is investigating the release, and it said in a statement that it will take regulatory action if it discovers any noncompliance. 
 
This leak was the second at the massive refinery complex in three months. A land-based slop pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil sprung a leak on 20 October 2024. The effluent overtopped a holding area and about 30 tonnes of oil-water mixture entered the sea between the two islands; the spill was contained and was quickly cleaned up. 

Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore is the British company's largest wholly-owned refining complex. It has been in operation since 1961; Shell sold it to Glencore and Chandra Asri Capital earlier this year, but the transaction has not yet been finalized.