Safety Flaring at U.K. Refinery Produces Heavy Smoke

Safety flaring Wednesday afternoon at a U.K. oil refinery produced heavy smoke, raising concern across Cheshire.

“An unplanned process issue on one of our plants has led to visible flaring at Stanlow,” a press release issued by Essar Oil UK. Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port produces 3.5 billion liters of gasoline, 4.9 billion liters of diesel and 2.3 billion liters of jet fuel per year.

“Flares (which allow the controlled burning of gases) are important safety devices used throughout the refining industry to ensure gases from process plants can be safely handled when required.”

Some of the smoke can be attributed to an unrelated fire in nearby Newton-Le-Willows, the statement reads.