Fawley Refinery: Reported explosion was air release, operator says

A reported explosion at an oil refinery was caused by a "sudden release of air", its operator has said.

Residents near Fawley Refinery in Hampshire said they heard a loud blast which shook houses as well as sirens at about 20:45 GMT on Friday.

Police officers responded to the site after hearing a "loud bang".

In a statement, the site's operator Exxon Mobil said the noise was a "sudden release of air from a utilities line" and no-one had been injured.

"There was no risk to communities... and operations are continuing as normal. We, again, apologise for the obvious concern that the noise will have caused to residents," the firm said.

It added the affected unit was already shut down for maintenance when the incident happened.

Derek Frost, from Holbury, said: "There was a huge explosion, the windows rattled and all the dogs around started barking.

"We went outside and all the alarms were going off at the refinery."

Matt Asquith tweeted: "Sounded like a big explosion!"

Liam Jones tweeted: "Shook ours, everyone was outside to check, scared everyone."

Waterside Police said officers went immediately to the refinery after hearing the blast.

In December, the refinery apologised for the lengthy use of flares which residents said was disrupting their sleep.

The plant declared an "operational incident" in November which the GMB union claimed was caused by the collapse of a structure used to refine crude oil.

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