Hampshire firefighters say 'glow' was Fawley oil refinery flaring excess gas

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service posted on social media saying it had received a large number of calls concerned about flames coming from the Exxon-owned oil refinery in Fawley.

The glow in the sky could be seen in Portsmouth.

But the site was not in danger – instead, it was undergoing a routine procedure known as flaring, burning off excess gas.

A statement from the company said: ‘Due to an interruption in operations late yesterday evening we are currently flaring and we anticipate that this will continue for a number of hours.

‘We apologise to our local residents for any concern and inconvenience caused by the flaring and associated noise.

‘We are doing all we can to resolve the situation and are taking a series of measures to minimise the flare.

‘Flaring is a safe, controlled and environmentally approved way of burning off excess gas which would normally be recycled and used in our operating processes.’

The Fawley site has four flare stacks, and on a cloudy night flames can be reflected off the clouds, creating an eye-catching – if worrying – sight for communities across the area.

SEE ALSO: Skipper rescues music group from France

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online. Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.