2001 Humber Refinery explosion

The 2001 Humber Refinery explosion was a major incident at the then Conoco-owned Humber Refinery at South Killingholme in North Lincolnshire. A large explosion occurred on the Saturate Gas Plant area of the site on Easter Monday, 17 April, 2001 at approximately 2:20pm. There were no fatalities, but two people were injured.^[1]

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Effects

The incident temporarily shut down the entire refinery and caused oil prices to increase. Damage was caused to the nearby villages of North and South Killingholme - mainly doors being blown from their hinges and windows being blown in.

HSE investigation

ConocoPhillips, as the company is now known, was investigated and subsequently fined £895,000 and ordered to pay £218,854 costs by the Health and Safety Executive for failing to effectively monitor the degradation of the refinery's pipework. The company pleaded guilty to these charges in court and has since implemented a Risk Based Inspection programme.^[2]

References

1. ^ Major blast at oil refinery - BBC News Online
2. ^ ConocoPhillips Ltd fined - Health & Safety Executive website

See also

• ConocoPhillips
• Humber Refinery
• South Killingholme
• Flixborough Disaster