ESSO Fined £500,000 After Liquid Petroleum Gas Leak

Oil company Esso has been fined half a million pounds for a leak of a dangerous gas that was only discovered by a worker who was cycling home. The operator of the UK’s largest oil refinery was prosecuted for health and safety breaches after around 15 tonnes of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) was released through a valve near to the main roadway used by LPG road tankers visiting Esso Petroleum Company’s refinery in Fawley, Hampshire. The leak, which happened on 15 November 2015, went undetected for around four hours before being discovered by an employee as he was leaving the premises. It took a further hour to establish the source of the leak with on-site emergency personnel having to enter the area to reset the valve.