Engen refinery
Crude oil refinery in South Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Engen refinery is a crude oil refinery in Wentworth, KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. It is owned by Engen Petroleum and operated from 1954 until a fire in 2020.
Description
The Engen refinery is a crude oil refinery in Wentworth, KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa operated by Engen Petroleum.[1] It produced 120,000 barrels per day and while operational, was the second largest crude oil refinery in Durban,[2] supplying about 17% of the nation's fuel.[3]
The refinery is located in the centre of a residential area.[4] The area around the refineries is colloquially known as "cancer valley" due to the provenience of cancers in the population.[5][1] Leukaemia rates are 24 times greater than the national average.[1] A 2002 study of the Settlers Primary School next to the refinery found hat 52% of the pupils suffered from asthma.[4]
History
The refinery has been in operation since 1954,[6] making it the oldest refinery in South Africa.[3]
After Engen used the 1993 Regulation of Gatherings Act to ban protests outside the refinery, rights group the Right2Know Campaign took action in the High Court to prohibit such bans.[1][6]
On 4 December 2020, an explosion at the refinery injured seven people.[2] By April 2021, the refinery had remained closed since the blast.[3] In 2021, Engen announced plans to convert the refinery into a storage facility.[3] In March 2023, those plans were restated.[7]