Suspected oil leak at Shell’s refinery at Pulau Bukom; containment measures taken to prevent spread

SINGAPORE: Shell has shut down an oil processing unit at Pulau Bukom to facilitate investigations into a suspected leak in the system, government agencies said in a joint statement on Friday (Dec 27). 

The oil processing unit at the Shell Energy and Chemical Parks is used to produce refined oil products such as diesel. Water drawn from the sea is used as part of the process to cool the refined oil products in the unit.

“Shell estimated that a few tonnes of the refined oil products were leaked, together with the cooling water discharge,” said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).

Shell said in a separate statement that oil sheens were spotted alongside a wharf on Thursday at the facility on Pulau Bukom. 

“This is suspected to be from one of the oil processing units, resulting in some of the refined oil products to be released into the water,” said the company, adding that “emergency response specialists” have been activated to manage the situation.

Shell has laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is being discharged. The in-built oil skimmer system in the channel has also been activated. 

“Containment and absorbent booms have been laid at the mouth of the channel, to prevent residual oil leaked from spreading into the sea. No oil patches are currently observed in the vicinity of Pulau Bukom,” said the agencies. 

MPA and Shell have deployed boats to clean up light oil sheens observed off Pulau Bukom using both dispersants and absorbent booms.

The agencies said they are closely monitoring the situation and have deployed satellites and drones for surveillance. 

As a precaution, oil absorbent booms will be laid at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa.

“Navigational traffic in the area is not affected. There is no impact to bunkering operations in the Port of Singapore,” they added. 

“Further updates will be provided if there are significant developments. NEA is investigating the incident with MPA and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered.”

Shell said the health and safety of its employees and the environment were its “top priority” and that it was working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. 

RECENT OIL SPILLS

In June, an oil spilled occurred after Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima hit Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

The Netherlands-flagged dredger experienced a sudden loss in engine and steering control before it hit Marine Honour.

This ruptured one of Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks, releasing about 400 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel into the sea. 

Oil washed up along several beaches including at Sentosa Island and East Coast Park, as well as the shoreline at Labrador Nature Reserve, causing these beaches to be closed for clean-up operations.

Clean-up operations involved 800 cleaning personnel and 2,300 volunteers, and were completed in September, ahead of schedule.

On Oct 20, about 30 to 40 metric tonnes of “slop” – a mixture of oil and water – leaked from a Shell land-based pipeline into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.

Containment booms were placed to protect areas such as Marina Barrage, Sentosa, East Coast Park and West Coast Park, with the public warned against swimming and other primary contact water activities at beaches. Clean-up operations were completed nine days later. 

Shell is being investigated for allegedly taking more than seven hours to notify the authorities about the leak on Oct 20. NEA also directed Shell to carry out a comprehensive pipeline integrity check across their Bukom plant.

On Oct 28, an estimated 5 tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed during bunkering operations between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker. 

Bunkering is the process of refuelling cargo vessels and according to MPA’s official website, Singapore is one of the largest and most important bunkering port in the world.

The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) categorises oil spills of less than seven tonnes as small.