Oil giant Shell was fined $80,000 on Monday for lapses in workplace safety that led to a 32-hour fire at the company’s Pulau Bukom oil refinery in September last year.
Court papers stated that while draining a pipeline, its contractors had used a method that allowed flammable gases to accumulate in the air.
The pipeline was connected to a tank of naphtha, a volatile liquid, and passed through a pump house where petroleum products were mixed. The contractors had used metal trays to collect the naphtha flowing out of the tank.