One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investigation into the cause.
The explosion struck a facility operated by energy commodities trader Gunvor at about 11:30 on Thursday, while maintenance work was being carried out.
A Gunvor spokesperson said an “incident” occurred during maintenance work on one of its storage tanks.
Dutch authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the explosion, with police saying there was no immediate indication of sabotage. All possible causes remain under investigation.
Authorities have described the incident as a possible workplace accident, while separate reporting indicated a maintenance team had been working on pipework at the site.
Gunvor said it was cooperating with local authorities as the investigation continued.
The Port of Rotterdam is Europe’s largest seaport and one of the continent’s most important gateways for crude oil, fuels and other energy products.
Its extensive energy infrastructure includes Shell’s Pernis refinery, which has capacity of about 404,000 barrels per day, as well as refineries operated by ExxonMobil and other major energy companies.
Shell said its operations at the port were unaffected by the explosion.
The port authority also said liquefied natural gas terminals had not been affected.
European gas transmission data nevertheless showed a temporary decline in gas sendout from Rotterdam’s Gate LNG terminal followed by volatile flows.
It was not immediately clear whether those movements were associated with the explosion or with separate power problems elsewhere across the sprawling port complex. Authorities said there was no connection between the blast and the power outages.
Any prolonged disruption at Gate would be closely watched by energy traders because the terminal is a key LNG import hub for north-west Europe.
Dutch gas storage facilities are currently only around 40 per cent full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data, putting supply levels under greater scrutiny ahead of the winter heating season.
The port experienced several power outages earlier on Thursday. Dutch authorities said the disruption was separate from the fatal explosion. A transformer fire was reported during the power problems, with electricity restored by mid-afternoon.
ExxonMobil said the outage had been resolved and operations were normal at its 191,000-barrel-per-day Rotterdam refinery.
The company declined to confirm an alert from energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, seen by Reuters, which indicated that all monitored units at the refinery had shut down.
Rotterdam port authorities and the local safety authority both said the earlier electricity disruption was not connected to the explosion.
Police and other authorities are continuing to investigate what caused the fatal blast.
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