Fawley refinery apologies over lengthy use of flares

The flares are used to "act as a safety valve for the plant", the refinery said

An oil refinery has apologised over the lengthy use of flares at its site.

The flares at the Fawley refinery, near Southampton, can be seen for miles and have been burning since early Tuesday.

ExxonMobil has given few details on the issue which it said was due to a "process interruption".

The plant declared an "operational incident" last month which the GMB union has claimed was caused by the collapse of a structure used to refine crude oil.

Residents living nearby say the orange glow from the bright flares, which can been seen along Southampton Water including from the Isle of Wight, has been disrupting their sleep.

One resident also reported hearing alarms and loud noises coming from the site since Tuesday.

About 2,500 staff and contractors work at the refinery, which was built in 1951 to replace a 670 acre facility built by Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Oil Company in 1921

The firm said: "Our team is now working towards bringing the unit safely back online.

"We will need to use our flares for a while longer to facilitate this work, but will do everything to minimise duration.

"The use of our flares is completely safe and controlled. We apologise if our flares are causing any disturbance, and thank you for your patience."

The BBC has asked ExxonMobil to give clearer details on the latest issue at the site - in a statement a spokesman said "We experienced an interruption to the electrical supply on a piece of equipment."

He added the flares were expected to reduce through Wednesday.

GMB said this picture - after the incident on 8 November - shows a large platform-like structure beside a tower apparently sagging on one side on to vertical supports

The incident in November is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Three weeks after it happened flares were used again - which ExxonMobil said was due to "restarting units we recently took offline".

The firm said they are used to combine vapours with steam which are then burned off at the site "to act as a safety valve for the plant".

About 2,500 staff and contractors work on the 3,250-acre site which first opened in 1951.