Oil leaks from Shell pipeline connecting Bukom Islands, Latest news from Singapore

An oil leak from a Shell pipeline in the early hours of October 20 affected waters off Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.

Oil began leaking from a British petrochemical company’s land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil around 5:30 a.m., the authority said in a statement the same day.

The MPA was alerted to the incident more than seven hours later at around 1pm. The leak stopped around 3 p.m., a Shell spokesman said separately.

Shell said the oil “flowed into a containment area, but some of it spilled into the water channel between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil,” adding that the total spilled volume was still being determined.

There were no new oil sightings as of 6 p.m., MPA added.

The Shell spokesman said no injuries were reported and oil slicks had been detected in the water channel between the two islands since late morning.

“We have activated emergency specialists to help manage the situation,” the spokesman said.

MPA, its contractor Singapore Salvage Engineers and Shell deployed boats to clean up the oil.

Additionally, Shell has placed containment barriers at the site of the leak, while MPA has activated its drone and satellite capabilities to track the oil.

The relevant government authorities have been alerted and asked to report any oil sightings, the agency added.

When contacted, the National Parks Board said it had not observed any oil in the waters off the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and Labrador Nature Reserve as of 6 p.m. “We will continue to monitor all oil deposits near our biodiversity-sensitive areas,” it said.

MPA said its port operations control center had asked passing ships to stay away from the site. There is no impact on navigation safety, the agency added.

According to previous media reports in May, Shell had agreed to sell its Bukom refinery – one of the world’s largest oil refining and trading hubs.

The refinery, opened in 1961, includes several crude oil distillation units with a total processing capacity of 237,000 barrels per day and a one million tonne per year steam cracker, Reuters said.

A distillation plant separates crude oil into fractions or large groups of its hydrocarbon components. Generally, a steam cracker breaks down hydrocarbons into smaller ones.