SHELL have announced that their Fife NGL Plant is set to flare this weekend.
Plant manager Teresa Waddington revealed that flaring will begin at 10am on Saturday morning and is expected to last for 72 hours.
She said: "This weekend we will start our annual 'turnaround' at the Shell Fife NGL Plant, where we will reduce production over a 15-day period in order to carry out planned investment and maintenance on the plant.
"As part of this turnaround, I would like to notify the local community of planned, intermittent, low intensity use of the Fife NGL flare stack during a period of 72 hours, beginning from 10am on Saturday, August 10.
"We will use the flare to empty the pipes and vessels on Module 3, which then enables us to complete testing on our safety systems and maintenance on the Module's safety-critical valves. The plant preparation will be phased in order to minimise the flaring rates as far as possible.
"Please rest assured that there is no risk to the local community, and that we will take measures to minimise the impact of the flare stack.
"We have informed the regulator SEPA of our intention.
"This is a necessary activity that we undertake, and represents our ongoing investment to ensure the plant continues to operate effectively and to high safety standards."
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