Lindsey Oil Refinery
Encyclopedia
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.
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. 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.
, 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
.
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.
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.
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".
in the refinery's crude oil distillation unit three days after the initial explosion.
at the time of work shifts commencing and ending. This has caused some disputes with the refinery's neighbouring community.
In December 2004, Total were fined £12,500 for allowing 60,000 litres of crude oil to leak into the Humber estuary.
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
owned oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
on Eastfield Road in North Killingholme
North Killingholme
North Killingholme is a small village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It has a population of 224. Along with its larger neighbour South Killingholme, it makes up the area of Killingholme. It is slightly closer to Grimsby than to Scunthorpe...
, North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies immediately north of the Humber Refinery
Humber Refinery
The Humber Refinery is a British oil refinery in South Killingholme, North Lincolnshire. It is situated south of the railway line next to the A160; Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery is north of the railway line....
owned by rival oil company ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
, being north of the railway line to Immingham Docks. The former RAF North Killingholme
RAF North Killingholme
RAF North Killingholme is a former Royal Air Force station in England, used during the later years of World War II. It was located just to the west of the village of North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire....
is a mile to the west. The Immingham Power Station
Immingham Power Station
Immingham Combined Heat and Power Plant is a gas-fired CHP power station in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber, north of the town of Immingham, from which it takes its name. Its generating capacity of 730 megawatts makes it Europe's largest CHP plant...
, owned by ConocoPhillips, is next door to the north, which provides the electricity and heat for the fractionation
Fractionation
See also: Fractionated spacecraftFractionation is a separation process in which a certain quantity of a mixture is divided up in a number of smaller quantities in which the composition changes according to a gradient. Fractions are collected based on differences in a specific property of the...
processes.
History and operation
The refinery entered service in May 1968 as a joint project between Total and FinaPetrofina
Petrofina was a Belgian oil company which merged with Total in 1999 to form TotalFina, but the name has now been changed back to Total after another merger...
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
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
pre-1974 local government area of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. 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. 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
Immingham Dock
Immingham Dock is a port facility, with linking railways, opened upstream from Grimsby by the Great Central Railway in 1912. It was first conceived in 1874, during the company's Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway days, after test borings north-west of Grimsby had been made by marine...
, to the refinery.
Production units
In the 1980s, a fluid catalytic crackerFluid catalytic cracking
Fluid catalytic cracking is the most important conversion process used in petroleum refineries. It is widely used to convert the high-boiling, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils to more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products...
, an alkylation
Alkylation
Alkylation is the transfer of an alkyl group from one molecule to another. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion or a carbene . Alkylating agents are widely used in chemistry because the alkyl group is probably the most common group encountered in...
unit, a visbreaker
Visbreaker
A visbreaker is a processing unit in oil refinery whose purpose is to reduce the quantity of residual oil produced in the distillation of crude oil and to increase the yield of more valuable middle distillates by the refinery...
, and an MTBE (Methyl tert-butyl ether
Methyl tert-butyl ether
Methyl tert-butyl ether, also known as methyl tertiary butyl ether and MTBE, is an organic compound with molecular formula 3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is immiscible with water. It has a minty odor vaguely reminiscent of diethyl ether, leading to unpleasant taste...
) unit (for high octane petrol
Octane rating
Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the anti-knock properties of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating...
) were added.
In 2007, a distillate hydrotreater
Hydrodesulfurization
Hydrodesulfurization is a catalytic chemical process widely used to remove sulfur from natural gas and from refined petroleum products such as gasoline or petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oils...
(HDS) was built. A hydrogen production unit (a steam methane reformer
Steam reforming
Fossil fuel reforming is a method of producing hydrogen or other useful products from fossil fuels such as natural gas. This is achieved in a processing device called a reformer which reacts steam at high temperature with the fossil fuel. The steam methane reformer is widely used in industry to...
for the hydrotreater process) is being built, for completion in 2009. The new plant will provide sulphur-free diesel
Ultra-low sulfur diesel
Ultra-low-sulfur diesel is a term used to describe diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content...
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
Jacobs Engineering Group
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., a publicly traded company with over 50,000 employees and 2010 revenues of nearly $10 billion, provides technical, professional, and construction services globally. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, it was founded in 1947 by Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs. Jacobs offers...
.
2009 workers dispute
On 28 January 2009, approximately 800 of Lindsey Oil Refinery's local contractors went on strike following the appointment by the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
construction contractor IREM
Irem (construction company)
IREM S.p.A is an Italian construction contracting global company. It was founded in 1979 by a group of professionals with experience in the mechanical construction business.-2009 Lindsay Oil Refinery protests:...
of several hundred European (mainly Italian and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) contractors on the site at a time of high unemployment in the local and global economy. The action attracted considerable media interest.
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.
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".
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. Total reported that firefighters had found traces of asbestosAsbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
in the refinery's crude oil distillation unit three days after the initial explosion.
Local impact
The refinery's presence causes a considerable amount traffic to pass through the village of North KillingholmeNorth Killingholme
North Killingholme is a small village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It has a population of 224. Along with its larger neighbour South Killingholme, it makes up the area of Killingholme. It is slightly closer to Grimsby than to Scunthorpe...
at the time of work shifts commencing and ending. This has caused some disputes with the refinery's neighbouring community.
In December 2004, Total were fined £12,500 for allowing 60,000 litres of crude oil to leak into the Humber estuary.