Engen closes in on enviro pact

Engen says it has endeavoured to complete a new agreement with communities on Durban’s southern industrial basin to reduce the toxic emissions at its refinery.

Engen says it has endeavoured to complete a new agreement with communities on Durban’s southern industrial basin to reduce the toxic emissions at its refinery.

Engen’s Durban facility has been the only refinery in the country that has agreed with neighbouring communities on a programme to reduce pollution levels.

The agreement was necessary after Engen proposed a 19 per cent increase in fuel production to 125 000 tons a day. And a further 20 per cent increase – to 150 000 tons a day – was planned within the next three years, reported on Wednesday.

The public participation process for the initial capacity increase was put on hold last year after community representatives questioned Engen’s claim that a production increase would not lead to more pollution from the refinery.

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance said it was still reviewing both the emission reduction and production increase proposals.

“We are just patiently waiting for [the alliance] to come back to us. We need their support at the public meeting,” said Engen spokesman Ian Khathi.

Khathi said that whereas the initial agreement (which was signed four years ago) concentrated mainly on reducing sulphur dioxide emissions, the new agreement would focus on other pollutants. “We are now embarking on the reduction of volatile organic compounds and particulates,” he added.

Engen planned to install equipment worth R54 million in its fluidised catalytic cracker unit, which was the biggest source of pollution. Three vapour recovery units were also being installed around the refinery for up to R30 million, the report said.

Engen has recently been operating at the higher output levels since receiving a three-month licence in August from the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs after last year’s fuel crisis.

The licence, which has since been extended a further six months, had raised the ire of community and environmental lobby groups, which said they had not been consulted.