Lindsey Oil Refinery

Lindsey Oil Refinery
Refinery entrance
Location within United Kingdom Lincolnshire
Alternative names	LOR
General information
Type	Oil refinery
Location	North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire
Address	Eastfield Road
Coordinates	53°38′26″N 0°15′28″W / 53.64063°N 0.25782°W / 53.64063; -0.25782
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Completed	May 1968
Height	130 metres (chimney)
Technical details
Floor area	500 acres (2.0 km2)
Design and construction
Owner	Total S.A.

Lindsey Oil Refinery is a Total owned oil refinery on Eastfield Road in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, England. It lies immediately north of the Humber Refinery owned by rival oil company ConocoPhillips, being north of the railway line to Immingham Docks. The former RAF North Killingholme is a mile to the west. The Immingham Power Station, owned by ConocoPhillips, is next door to the north, which provides the electricity and heat for the fractionation processes.

History and operation

The refinery entered service in May 1968 as a joint project between Total and Fina and currently employs a permanent staff of around 500, as well as several hundred contractors on site, rising to up to several thousand during major turnaround and maintenance projects. It is named after the former Lindsey pre-1974 local government area of Lincolnshire. In 1999, Total took full control of the plant, when it bought Fina.

It processes approximately 10,000,000 tons of crude oil per year, or 200,000 barrells per day via two pipelines. This makes Lindsey Britain's third largest oil refinery.^[1] It produces around 35 types of product.

Crude oil is imported via two pipelines, connecting the 1,000-metre jetty five miles away at Immingham Dock, to the refinery.

Production units

In the 1980s, a fluid catalytic cracker, an alkylation unit, a visbreaker, and an MTBE (Methyl tert-butyl ether) unit (for high octane petrol) were added.

In 2007, a distillate hydrotreater (HDS) was built. A hydrogen production unit (a steam methane reformer for the hydrotreater process) is being built, for completion in 2009. The new plant will provide sulphur-free diesel and mean different types of crude oil can be processed, that can be made in a conventional catalytic cracker or hydrocracker. It was built from June 2008-June 2009 by Jacobs Engineering.

2009 workers dispute

Main article: 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes

On 28 January 2009, approximately 800 of Lindsey Oil Refinery's local contractors went on strike following the appointment by the Italian construction contractor IREM of several hundred European (mainly Italian and Portuguese) contractors on the site at a time of high unemployment in the local and global economy. The action attracted considerable media interest.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} On 19 June, it was noted that more than 900 workers have been sacked from the refinery due to recent walkouts but were reinstated after a further strike.^[7]

Following on from the poor industrial record at the plant, the following headline appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 21 April 2010: "Around 500 workers at the Lindsey oil refinery face new uncertainty over their future after Total said it needs to sell the site".^[8]

2010 disaster

On Tuesday 29 June 2010, a fire broke out at the plant, killing one 24-year-old worker and injuring two others. The fire was believed to have originated a superheated industrial heater near the site.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} Total reported that firefighters had found traces of asbestos in the refinery's crude oil distillation unit three days after the initial explosion.^[14]

Local impact

The refinery's presence causes a considerable amount traffic to pass through the village of North Killingholme at the time of work shifts commencing and ending. This has caused some disputes with the refinery's neighbouring community.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2004, Total were fined £12,500 for allowing 60,000 litres of crude oil to leak into the Humber estuary.^[15]

Gallery

• 

  Refinery at night

• 

  Refinery at night

References

1. ^ British Refinery Workers Strike over Influx of Cheap Foreign Labour - OilVoice
2. ^ Workers stage protest over use of foreign labour at oil refinery - Daily Mail Online
3. ^ Mass walkout over foreign labour - BBC News Online
4. ^ Hundreds of oil refinery workers walk out over jobs given to foreign workers - Daily Telegraph
5. ^ Brits can kiss jobs goodbye - Daily Star
6. ^ Britons walk out in foreign jobs protest - Daily Express
7. ^ "Oil plant sackings spark walkouts". BBC News Online (BBC). 19 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8108941.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
8. ^ Ruddick, Graham (20 April 2010). "Total considers sale of Lindsey oil refinery" (in English). The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7611190/Total-considers-sale-of-Lindsey-oil-refinery.html. Retrieved 16 May 2011. 
9. ^ "Workers sent home from blast-hit Lindsey Oil Refinery". BBC News Online Humberside (BBC). 2010-07-01. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10479837. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
10. ^ "2nd UPDATE:Total UK Lindsey Refinery Fire Under Investigation - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. 2010-06-30. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100630-709599.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Safety fears build at Lindsey Oil Refinery as workers sent home". Thisisgrimsby.co.uk. http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/news/BREAKING-NEWS-Safety-fears-build-plant-workers-sent-home/article-2367508-detail/article.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
12. ^ (AFP) – 1 day ago. "AFP: Worker killed in fire at Total oil refinery". Google.com. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5graKdgMuREp6c4QyQNsmjbzN5bCQ. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
13. ^ "Man Missing After Large Blaze At Lindsey Oil Refinery In North Lincolnshire | UK News | Sky News". News.sky.com. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Firefighters-Tackle-Large-Blaze-At-Lindsey-Oil-Refinery-In-North-Lincolnshire/Article/201006415656630?lpos=UK_News_Second_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15656630_Firefighters_Tackle_Large_Blaze_At_Lindsey_Oil_Refinery_In_North_Lincolnshire. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
14. ^ "Workers sent home from blast-hit Lindsey Oil Refinery". BBC News. 2010-07-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humberside/10479837.stm. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
15. ^ BBC News Online - Oil firm fined over Humber spill

External links

• Total UK
• Energy Institute
• UKPIA