The mighty Shell ethane cracker seems to have “issues” in getting, and staying, fully up to speed. In what has become a pattern, about once a month the cracker plant is forced to use flaring–the burning of hydrocarbons (ethane or natural gas) to safely dispose of said hydrocarbons during an equipment malfunction. It happened a number of times late last year as the plant began to come online (see Shell Cracker Plant has Flaring Episode – Skyline Turns Orange). Another flaring episode happened last month (see Shell Cracker Plant Forced to Flare Again Following “Malfunction”). And, flaring happened again Tuesday evening for three hours, according to a local anti group that keeps cameras trained on the facility 24/7/365.
