22 November, 11 am. Smoke is still being emitted from Jurong Island, as ExxonMobil is still carrying out flaring works from 24 hours earlier, as a compressor tripped and several process units had to be shut down. STOMP received the first MMS picture from as early as 11:14 am on 21 November, and this was followed by a deluge of pictures sent from you via MMS and email throughout the day. We even received a video from one of you about the incident. See pictures sent in by you here! Many STOMPers expressed concern and outrage about this matter, because as of yesterday evening, no news was released about what the fire and gases were. Homemaker Mrs Lee, 41, even sent STOMP this text message: "Oil refinery causing thick pollution!"

Appended is the statement issued by ExxonMobil at 12:10 am on 22 November:

Dear Editors,

ExxonMobil Media Statement (For immediate release)

Flaring at ExxonMobil's Singapore Chemical Plant

At 11am this morning (21 November 2006), a compressor at ExxonMobil's Singapore Chemical Plant on Jurong Island tripped. We subsequently shut down a number of the process units safely. As part of the shut down and for safety reasons, we had to burn off excess hydrocarbons in the facility through the flare stacks. We wish to assure the public that flaring is a vital part of keeping our chemical plant running safely during unplanned operational interruptions or scheduled maintenance activities. Flaring is continuing as we are in the process of restarting the process units. We expect the flaring to end some time tomorrow. We wish to add that the National Environment Agency (NEA) has stringent emission controls in place. We abide by the controls and we cooperate fully with NEA in their monitoring of emissions.

STOMP has contacted the National Environment Agency. This is their response:

The public is advised not to be alarmed by the flame at the flare . During a process upset at a petrochemical plant flammable hydrocarbon gases are sent to its flaring system to be safely burnt off. The hydrocarbon gases are similar to liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) for use as fuel in homes. Like LPG the hydrocarbon gases contain hydrogen and carbon that will be burnt off in the flare to produce water vapour and carbon dioxide, which is likewise produced by vehicles on the roads.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost604.aspx

News Adapted From Stomp

Leon