Shutdown at South African refinery brought forward after worker's death

Reuters
Early morning smog enshrouds Cape Town's main oil refinery as the sun rises over the ecologically sensitive Rietvlei wetland in a file photo. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A planned shutdown at South Africa's largest refinery, the SAPREF plant co-owned by Shell and BP, will be brought forward to this week after a worker died in hospital following a flash fire, a spokeswoman said on Sunday. The worker, one of three hospitalised after a pipeline fire erupted at the 172,000 barrel a day plant on Friday night, succumbed to his wounds on Sunday. Two others remain in a stable condition, spokeswoman Cindy Govender said. "In the wake of the incident the SAPREF refinery will bring forward a planned site shutdown to this week," she said in a statement, adding that investigations are under way to ascertain the extent of the damage to infrastructure and the cause of the fire.