Incident Report Subject: Fire Breaks out at Esso Refinery Date of Email report: Mon 19/09/2011 Report Detail:
Port Dickson Fire and Rescue Department head Yahya Jaafar said there were no leads to suggest that arson could have caused the fire. Firefighters had to use foam to douse the flames ignited by naphtha fuel stored at the pump loading area. Naphtha is a highly flammable liquid used as a solvent for various chemical industries. It is also used as a feedstock to produce high octane gasoline and is widely used in the petro-chemical industry. Yahya said the firefighters and the refineries' ERTs prevented the fire from spreading to two refinery tanks and a nearby LPG bottling plant. Some 100 workers were on duty at the time of the incident. Eyewitnesses said the flames were up to 30m high at the height of the blaze. Esso Malaysia Bhd (EMB) in a statement said there were no injuries reported. “Operations at EMB's terminal were temporarily halted as a precautionary measure. “They have since resumed,” it said, adding that operations at the refinery were not affected. The refinery has been operating here since 1963 and, among others, produces some 90,000 barrels of oil per day. Port Dickson OCPD Supt Baljeet Singh also said that no report had been lodged to suggest arson as a possible cause of the fire.San Miguel had acquired 65% of ExxonMobil's stake in EMB for RM614.3mil in recent weeks Additional Documentation: |
