Shell Singapore charged over Pulau Bukom oil leaks, failure to report them immediately

SINGAPORE: Shell Singapore was charged on Tuesday (Sep 22) under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act over two incidents in 2024 where oily mixtures leaked from its facilities at Pulau Bukom.

The company is also accused of failing to immediately report the incidents, which occurred in October and December 2024.

According to the charges, approximately 40 tonnes of oily mixture was discharged into Singapore waters through a hole in a pipeline within the oil refining facility at the Shell Singapore Energy and Chemicals Park at about 8am on Oct 20, 2024.

Shell is accused of reporting the incident to the port master only at about 12.55pm that day.

The second incident occurred in December, when an estimated 485kg to 956kg of an oil mixture was discharged into Singapore waters from the same facility.

The discharge occurred between 9.30am on Dec 26, 2024 and 8.30am on Dec 28, 2024.

Shell is accused of failing to report this incident immediately and flagging it only at about 11.50am on Dec 26, 2024.

Regulations governing the prevention of sea pollution require occupiers of such refineries to report incidents like this "without delay and to the fullest extent possible", the charge read.

Past reports stated that a mixture of oil and water, known as "slop", was leaked from Shell's land-based pipeline into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil in the October incident.

Shell worked on clean-up efforts along with the authorities, with oil absorbent booms pre-emptively deployed at places like Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve and East Coast Park.

In December 2024, government agencies said Shell had shut down an oil processing unit at Pulau Bukom to facilitate investigations into a suspected leak.

On Tuesday, the court heard that Shell is also facing prosecution by the National Environment Agency over the same incidents.

A representative for Shell sought an adjournment of eight weeks, saying the company required time to take internal instructions and to appoint counsel.

The business associated with the oil spill was divested in 2025, and additional time is needed to locate historical records, she said.

She added that Shell needs time to properly understand and respond to the charges.

The case was adjourned to October.

If found guilty of being the occupier of a place on land where any oil or oily mixture is discharged into Singapore waters, an entity can be fined between S$1,000 and S$1 million. A person facing such an offence additionally faces up to two years' jail.

For failing to report the discharge of an oily mixture into Singapore waters without delay and to the fullest extent possible, an offender can be fined up to S$5,000.