Astron Energy (Pty) Ltd. is investigating a fire that broke on early on the morning of July 2 at its 100,000-b/d refinery at Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa.
The fire, which occurred around 4:00 a.m. local time, has been contained, and while the plant is now stable, all work at the site has been suspended, Astron said in a release.
While details regarding the location of and possible damages caused by the fire were not disclosed, Astron confirmed the incident resulted in the deaths of two employees and injured seven others, two of which remain in hospital to undergo treatment for injuries.
“This is a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected,” said Jonathan Molapo, Astron Energy’s chief executive officer. “Our priority now is to support them, and our colleagues, and to continue to ensure that the plant is completely safe. We will conduct a full investigation of the incident.”
While City of Cape Town fire services and emergency services remain at the scene, there is no danger to surrounding communities. The company, which immediately activated its emergency response procedures upon the fire’s occurrence, also said it has notified all relevant authorities.
The incident, however, poses no immediate threat to fuel supplies, according to the operator.
Astron Energy was formed in 2018 following primary shareholder Glencore PLC’s purchase of Chevron Corp.’s majority ownership in former Milnerton refinery operator Chevron South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. as well as 100% ownership interest in Chevron Botswana (Pty.) Ltd. from Off the Shelf Investments Fifty Six (RF) (Pty.) Ltd. (OGJ Online, Sept. 14, 2018).
As part of Glencore’s regulatory approval process in acquiring its 75% stake in Astron Energy, the two companies entered commitments with the South Africa Competition Tribunal and the South African Economic Development Department that, among others, included agreements to invest to up to 6.5 billion rand ($467 million) through 2024 on projects aimed at debottlenecking and improving performance of the Cape Town refinery, Glencore said in its 2019 annual report to investors.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
