Fire Shuts Down Europe's Largest Oil Refinery

Royal Dutch Shell has suspended loadings of oil products from the Pernis refinery after a fire caused the shutdown of most of its production. The extent of damage was being investigated. The night sky over the port of Rotterdam was alight after the blaze broke out on Saturday at the high-voltage power station at Shell's Pernis refinery, DW reported. The British-Dutch oil giant did not confirm media reports that the fire may have been sparked by a short circuit. The company said it wanted to "wait to know more about the circumstances of the incident" before commenting on its cause. Shell said there were no casualties as a result of the fire, which had been brought under control. According to regional security authorities, there were no toxic materials in the smoke. The Pernis refinery in Rotterdam's sprawling port has the capacity to refine more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The shutdown prompted Shell to burn off excess gases at the plant, a process known as flaring.