Articles
An investigation has been launched into an explosion at the Lindsey oil refinery that left one worker dead last week.
The 24-year old man was working close to a crude oil distillation unit at the Lincolnshire-based refinery when it caught fire and exploded.
Two people were treated for minor injuries.
More than 50 firefighters were called to the plant, where black smoke was seen billowing from burning crude oil.
The Health and Safety Executive and police have launched a formal investigation.
Employees at Lindsey said the fire had started in a super-heated industrial heater.
Oil company Total, which runs the refinery, said it would fully cooperate with investigators.
Workers at the nearby Humber Refinery, which is run by ConocoPhillips, staged a one-day walkout citing safety concerns following the Lindsey refinery explosion.
Unions said that contractors at the Humber Refinery had objected to the use of its plant’s firefighting teams at the Lindsey blaze, which they said had left the Humber Refinery vulnerable.
Unions said the incident called into question Total’s safety record. The company has recently been fined following the investigation into the 2005 Buncefield disaster.
Phil Whitehurst, GMB lead organiser for engineering construction, said: “The fire started in a heater where the oil is heated to a colossal temperature. The heater was adjacent to where the workforce at the new HDS-3 plant go to work.
“Total has just been fined heavily after the Buncefield explosion and now they have another one at Lindsey.
“This brings into question Total’s safety record yet again. They have to be held accountable.”
The parts of the refinery affected by the Lindsey incident had been safely shut down and isolated, Total said.
Other areas of the plant remain operational.
The company said in April that it was contemplating selling the Lindsey refinery as a means of achieving production reduction targets. Operations at the site were disrupted last year by a series of wildcat strikes.
Analysts said there is overcapacity in the oil refining sector in the UK, and that about half the country’s refining capacity could go on the market.
Oil major Shell has been attempting to sell its refinery at Stanlow for some months.