Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 60 million gallons of gasoline blow up near London

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-11-2005, 09:07 AM:

Just after 6am this morning there was a very big bang in a fuel storage depot about 30 miles north of London, which apparently could be heard up to 100 miles away! 'In total, 20 petrol tanks are involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.' (story here - link to BBC News Online article of 11 December 2005).

Apparently this depot is one of five in Britain. This leads me to wonder if we're going to see shortages in the south-east and steep fuel price rises in the next few days, given that 20% of the country's storage capacity has been knocked out. Interestingly the media coverage isn't mentioning this aspect at all - possibly in an attempt to prevent panic buying.

Shame no-one managed to video the explosion, though - it would put my little collection of nitrate fire videos in the shade! [evil]

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 12-11-2005, 01:58 PM:

I'm sure a number of people, yet to be discovered, got killed in that explosion. Not good.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-11-2005, 02:04 PM:

Sounds like terrorists
Now you guys will get screwed at the pump, like we did because of Katrina

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-11-2005, 03:22 PM:

Daryl: the media reporting so far has been emphatic in stating that there were no deaths - if they had reported any I wouldn't have included jokes in my post above. That having been said and thinking about it a little more, if anyone was very close to the storage tanks at the time, we may well not know that they're a victim for some time. That depends on how careful the signing in & out procedures were in the facility, I guess.

quote: Greg Mueller
Sounds like terrorists

The news media is reporting the official Police line, which is that they believe it to be an accident but obviously can't be sure about anything as yet. If it was a terrorist attack I'm a bit surprised that no claims of responsibility have been reported.

quote: Greg Mueller
Now you guys will get screwed at the pump, like we did because of Katrina

We got screwed by Katrina too - the knock on effect of increased oil exports from Europe to the US pushed pump prices up here a bit, although the hike only lasted 2-3 weeks. I can't believe that we won't be screwed by this, although it looks like aviation will be the main problem. According to a report on the radio just now, that depot supplied all the major airports serving London (except Gatwick) by a direct pipeline. It looks like there'll certainly be fuel shortages (great news - I'm supposed to fly to Heathrow on Wednesday, and domestic flights will be the first ones to go if cancellations are needed).

In any case, this certainly buggers our chances of meeting the Kyoto targets!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-11-2005, 06:06 PM:

God damn it I love explosions. Why can't anything really big ever explode in Denver, like, ummm... something that doesn't affect me or something like that?

Oil companies will use ANY excuse to raise prices. They posted their biggest profits ever and are saying that they need to raise profits.. errr prices because of demand? Just like natural gas (heating) prices are going up... they are raising them just because they can and there's not a god damn thing we can do about it.

If this was a terrorist attack (highly doubtful) then it was a sloppy one because mass amounts of people didn't die. If they want to do this just to raise gas prices, then they can do that just by raising the prices themselves since they own the oil companies. Everybody on this board funds terrorism whether they like it or not.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-11-2005, 06:11 PM:

Is Joel Silver producing a movie in the UK? That could explain those explosions.

We have seen a 15 cent price increase just over the past week on gasoline just over the cold snap this past week. Mind you, these are price increases levied on fuel that was already in the gasoline station's tanks and fuel that had been purchased on contract weeks ago.

It's kind of funny how the prices will increase immediately on any hint of bad news, yet take a long time to decline even after demand wanes.

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 12-11-2005, 07:11 PM:

quote: Greg Mueller
Sounds like terrorists
Now you guys will get screwed at the pump, like we did because of Katrina

Of course it's terrorists, my first thought exactly, I mean accidents don't happen anymore therefore it has to be terrorism. Never mind that it is a storage facility of volatile chemicals /sarcasm off

As Leo said, Katrina hit the pump prices over here. Not just 'a bit' as Leo suggested but quite significantly. Today I heard some reports of panic buying at the pumps from some really stupid motorists I assume. The last time people were panic buying I went to refuel as my car was low, I saw the queue and never even bothered even though I had about an 1/8th of a tank left.. Then laughed two days later as I filled my car for about 10p cheaper per litre.

UPDATE: Supposedly the biggest fire in Europe in peacetime. 43 casualties, mostly walking wounded.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-11-2005, 10:49 PM:

Walking wounded? That doesn't sound too bad. They weren't wounded too bad otherwise they'd be running to the nearest hospital.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 12-12-2005, 02:51 AM:

I have to question the wisdom of storing such large quantities in one location, and not very far from residential areas.

Thankfully, it does seem that it's not as bad as it could easily have been. I suppose that at that time of day a lot of people would still have been at home, and therefore had some protection. I have no idea how many people would have been working in the depot at the time; if it is correct that none were killed then they were indeed very lucky.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 12-12-2005, 03:18 AM:

quote: Greg Mueller
Now you guys will get screwed at the pump

Like we aren't already?!

Even my beloved lpg has hit over £0.40/l in some places. One station has gone bust locally, he bitched and complained in the paper, but omits to mention that his prices were consistently the highest for 20 odd miles around!

Accidents like this are rare, fortunately, but do happen. Remember Bopal? Or closer to home for us was the Grangemouth refinery maybe 20 years ago, my parents house is about 10 miles from there as the crow flies. We were awoken one sunday mornign to the mother of all explosions, the house shook, dust everywhere. out of the top windows you could see the small mushroom cloud, flames and billowing smoke.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-12-2005, 03:46 AM:

The station I usually fill up with LPG at increased its prices from 37.9p to 39.9p a litre, which is still cheaper than the average (43-44p) in the York area. When I asked why, they told me that fuel duty on LPG was increased more than it was on petrol this year, effective from September, and that a big increase in LPG sales over the summer was squeezing supplies.

quote: Andy Muirhead
As Leo said, Katrina hit the pump prices over here. Not just 'a bit' as Leo suggested but quite significantly.

About a fortnight after Katrina hit, petrol prices went up from around 88p to 92-93p a litre (and Diesel by a similar amount). They were on their way back down again by mid-September, and are now below the 90p mark in most places round here.

quote: Joe Redifer
If this was a terrorist attack (highly doubtful) then it was a sloppy one because mass amounts of people didn't die.

If their aim was to create instability and a major low-level nuisance by disrupting transport in the run-up to Christmas, I'd say it was possibly quite a clever one. Furthermore, the fact that there weren't immediate mass casualties (although the thousands of people who are likely to need medical care for minor respiratory issues could hit the economy significantly) will make extensive investigation into possible terrorist involvement less likely.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-12-2005, 10:42 AM:

I recall one of the biggest terrorist in the middle east set fire to all the oil wells in Kuwait, a few years back....
Didn't kill a lot of people, but sure raised hell in other ways...

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-12-2005, 02:56 PM:

Terrorists are responsible for everything. That's why we gotta knock 'em out in our "crusade" against them.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 12-12-2005, 03:16 PM:

I guesso...in my youth everything was A COMMIE PLOT! Louis

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 12-12-2005, 06:47 PM:

quote: Leo Enticknap
About a fortnight after Katrina hit, petrol prices went up from around 88p to 92-93p a litre (and Diesel by a similar amount). They were on their way back down again by mid-September, and are now below the 90p mark in most places round here.

Up here, they went up to around £1.01 a litre.

Anyway as Pete said, we get shafted for petrol in the UK regardless of the world or local oil situation.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-13-2005, 05:32 AM:

BBC radio newsreader just now: 'The retailer Marks & Spencer has won a landmark court case against the government over tax; the convicted gang murderer, Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, has said that firefighters hope to extinguish the Hertfordshire oil blaze by lunchtime; and the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, has been executed.'

Freudian slip?

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 12-13-2005, 11:23 AM:

That's pretty funny... "...and more traffic in minutes."

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 12-14-2005, 08:48 PM:

Here are a couple of images. Source is obvious.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-15-2005, 05:50 AM:

Looks like LA.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-15-2005, 11:05 AM:

Kodak's UK marketing facility at Hemel Hempstead was just a few blocks away from the explosion. The building is closed, and most people are telecommuting from home:

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-15-2005, 06:14 PM:

And the National Film & Television Archive's complex which holds its conservation centre and acetate vaults is 6 miles north of the explosion site, at Berkhamsted. A colleague there told me it was very lucky that the cloud went south rather than north, as their air handling systems could have sustained quite a bit of damage if they'd ingested substantial amounts of soot.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-16-2005, 04:34 AM:

quote: John Pytlak
Kodak's UK marketing facility at Hemel Hempstead was just a few blocks away from the explosion.

I thought it was suspicious, too.

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 12-20-2005, 08:37 AM:

Kodak may have benn spared but Fujifilm Electronic Imaging didn't fare so well according to this BBC online article here

Blast depot 'must not be rebuilt'

The deputy PM faced pleas for financial help
Residents and business people near the Buncefield oil depot have told Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott the site should not be rebuilt.
Mr Prescott held meetings with local people on Saturday, nearly a week after the explosions at the site in Hemel Hempstead.

He described the scale of the blast damage as "just unbelievable".

Nearby residents and workers at the destroyed site said they wanted financial help from the government.

Mr Prescott held the meeting with 30 local residents and businesses on the Mayland Industrial Estate.

The local MP had urged him to bring "a chequebook in his back pocket" before the meeting.

The deputy prime minister said the government would draw from its experience helping those affected by the Boscastle floods.

'Tax rebate'

After surveying the devastated site he said: "The scale of the damage is just unbelievable. I don't think I've ever seen such destruction like that.

It is total destruction and I could not imagine anybody would have survived had that have been during normal business hours

Fujifilm spokesman

"It's well understandable why perhaps companies and indeed residents have been saying to me is it safe to live and work alongside them? That is a fundamental question which we will have to address ourselves to."

A spokesman from Fujifilm, who were based at the site, said: "We have about 140 people on that site normally.

"We were completely and utterly shocked to see... it is total destruction and I could not imagine anybody would have survived had that have been during normal business hours."

'Total disaster'

Workers who have lost their jobs face Christmas with no income, while some families will remain unable to go home.

Helen Morrell, 44, has run a sandwich shop near the depot since 1999.

Nearby businesses have begun to assess damage

She said: "The shop pays my mortgage. I would like some monetary aid, at least a tax rebate. That's the sort of thing the government should be thinking of."

Residents Debbie Zikmund and Derek Hood face thousands of pounds in repair bills on their house, which they were planning to sell.

"It's just a total disaster," said Ms Zikmund, 35. "We were due to exchange contracts and have people move in, but they are now refusing to."

Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited, which runs the depot in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and is jointly owned by Total and Texaco, has given £150,000 to a council emergency fund.

The Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead, Mike Penning, told BBC News the fire which followed a series of explosions last Sunday had deprived about 5,000 workers of their place of employment.

Before the meeting, Mr Prescott said: "My concern was to come... just to hear how people feel a week later.

"Of course there are longer term issues. There is the matter of resources."

Flight pitstops

When Mr Prescott first visited the site on Monday, the day after the explosions, he offered government help to the emergency services but was told they were able to cope.

The same day, he told the Commons the government would provide support and assistance after the fire.

The blaze sent a plume of thick smoke across southern England

The Buncefield depot is a major distribution terminal operated by Total and part-owned by Texaco, storing oil and petrol as well as kerosene for airports across the region, including Heathrow and Luton.

Rationing at the airport now means long-haul flights to Australia, the Far East and South Africa are having to make unscheduled stops to take on more fuel.

The depot, the UK's fifth-largest, also feeds filling stations for diesel and petrol, industrial oil and domestic heating oil for north London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-20-2005, 10:20 AM:

Here's a photo of the Kodak marketing building "HemelOne" that is just across the street from the oil depot. Almost every window facing the exploding oil depot was blown out:

Fortunately, no one in the building was killed or seriously injured, being that the oil depot explosion occured early Sunday morning. Because most of our technical staff there have notebook computers with access to the Kodak Lotus Notes and Intranet network, they are able to telecommute from home and when visiting customers. (one of them sent the photo).

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-20-2005, 02:31 PM:

A pilot friend is reporting that the Heathrow situation could develop into political trouble. Apparently, if Buncefield is not rebuilt and recommissioned quickly, restoring the fuel supply to Heathrow is going to take years rather than months while an alternative replacement depot goes through the planning process. Heathrow is currently dealing with the shortage by rationing the amount of fuel it makes available to airlines.

This means that at the moment, many short haul airliners are having to fly into Heathrow with enough fuel to carry on to their next destination, and fuel is a lot more expensive if you buy it at a small regional airport than if you buy it at a major hub. As the article posted by Dick notes, long haul airliners are having to make a fuel stop somewhere else on their way in and/or out of Heathrow. According to my friend, the extra take-offs and landings burn a lot of extra fuel, increase the maintenance costs and accelerate the depreciation of the capital value of an aircraft. There's also the environmental impact of the extra fuel being burnt to consider.

The result is that airlines are willing to put up with the reduced fuel supply and increased cost for a few weeks, but if the shortages go on longer than that some long-haul airlines are thinking seriously about abandoning Heathrow for good, and even looking at somewhere other than London for the main airport of entry to the UK. For the regional cities which have good airports - e.g. Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle - this could potentially be a welcome economic boost, I'd have thought.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-21-2005, 04:18 AM:

quote: Dick Vaughan
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited, which runs the depot in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and is jointly owned by Total and Texaco, has given £150,000 to a council emergency fund.

Umm, I think it's a bigger emergency than that.
Good luck with Texaco.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 12-21-2005, 05:30 AM:

Refectory at the College where I work is now closed, so I went to Mc Donalds just across the road to get some breakfast this morning. There's a printed notice on the counter, saying that some items may be unavailable due to the fire. What I wanted was, indeed, unavailable.

Strangely, there was a copyright notice at the bottom of the sheet, that was dated 2006!

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-21-2005, 06:55 AM:

So does this mean that McDonald's produces their food products by refining them from kerosene?

[puke]