Documents examined by investigative reporters at SourceMaterial show that EET Fuels repeatedly exceeded its pollution limits while operating the Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. This year, the company admitted guilt on 12 counts of violating environmental law spanning from 2018 through 2020.
The EA has confirmed that it is probing the breaches. One of only four UK refineries left, Stanlow processes 10 million tonnes of crude oil annually, generating roughly 18% of the nation’s fuel used by cars and trucks. EET Fuels acquired the refinery from Shell in 2011 for £842m.
Permit Limits Exceeded Hundreds of Times
Under its permit, the refinery is allowed to release set amounts of oil and chemicals into the air and waterways, with the condition that the company works to keep pollution down and prevent harm to people. The EA’s reports reveal that during 2023 and 2024, the permitted limits for chemical releases were broken hundreds of times.
The regulator has determined this meant EET Fuels broke its permit conditions 58 times over the two-year period, which could amount to an illegal offence. The spills included toxic chemicals such as cyanide, benzene, and heavy oils into the air and local waterways like Thornton Brook and the River Gowy, which connect onto the River Mersey Estuary.
Dolphins and rare birds breed within it, and the Mersey Estuary itself carries the designation of Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Oil Leaks and Spills
Oil-laced rainwater escaped from the site in July 2023. The Environment Agency treated the incident as “significant,” and residents lodged a “significant number” of complaints regarding the odor. Subsequent examinations revealed that the oil had made its way into groundwater supplies.
EET Fuels announced that the oil spill occurred on a “low scale”, which was a “was strictly localised to two boreholes, all well within the Stanlow site itself.”.
A separate EA report states that oil was discharged again from the site on 12 September 2024. Over a 36-hour span, more than a tonne of oil flowed into Thornton Brook and spread to the Mersey Estuary. EET Fuels reported the incident to the authorities, though it took almost two weeks for the company to give an estimate of the amount spilled — another violation of the rules requiring such an estimate within 24 hours.
The EA and Natural England were brought into the emergency response effort along with local port authorities and the Fisheries Authority.
The Impact on Wildlife
The River Mersey’s surrounding land serves as a feeding and resting ground for several species that travel across the globe, according to Charlotte Harris, chief executive of Cheshire Wildlife Trust. She pointed out that dunlin, blacktail, godwit and red shank make the journey there. She also noted that this habitat is available only because groups, including the Wildlife Trusts, have spent years cleaning up pollution left behind by old industry.
The body that regulates SSSIs has said “What has gone in there is going to have some impact on the vegetation and salt marsh and there is probably still a risk of ingestion by birds.”, according to Natural England (NE).
A drone survey showed oil had spread for more than a mile down the river and “there was brown discolouration around the reedbed,” with wading birds including the red-listed Dunlin shown in the footage.
Local Communities Affected
The authorities judged the danger to public health to be slight since the location was not readily accessible. Yet local cockle beds in the Estuary were shut down while the Food Standards Agency (FSA) carried out tests on water quality. After five weeks of testing, the beds received a clean bill of health.
The chief executive of the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority North West, Mark Taylor, said that “The incident led to a delay in the fishers being able to derive an income from the bed,” although the business was eventually able to recover this lost income later on in the season.
The Company’s Response
The BBC was told by EET Fuels in a statement: “Selectively chosen, historical permit exceedances from prior years in no way represent the current operational status, improving environmental performance, or governance of the refinery today.”
A separate criminal probe into the events of September 2024 has been initiated by the EA and is still underway. The EA has not yet stated what steps it plans to take concerning the 2023 offences.
The Pattern of Breaches
- Pollutants like sulphur dioxide were released into the air at seven times permitted levels
- Cyanide was released into waterways like the Gowy at more than eight times permitted levels
- Oil was released at more than thirteen times the allowed levels
- The July 2023 leak involved rainwater containing oil, classified as “significant” by the EA
- The September 2024 spill involved more than a tonne of oil over a 36-hour period
What Happens Next
The EA is investigating both the 2023 offences and the September 2024 spill as potential crimes. The company’s permit conditions remain in force, and it must continue to make efforts to limit pollution to the environment and harm to humans.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs small refiners and is against any new rulebook that raises the cost of entry for them while letting EET Fuels off with a fine for admitting to dozens of pollution breaches at Stanlow. The company’s record includes hundreds of permit exceedances, spills of toxic chemicals, and repeated delays in reporting. The EA has already treated these incidents as potentially criminal, and it should pursue those charges rather than writing a new rulebook that punishes smaller rivals.
The paper’s position is that regulation usually protects the biggest players and raises the cost of entry for small ones. Here, the biggest player is doing the damage: Stanlow is one of only four UK refineries left, and EET Fuels admitted guilt on 12 counts of violating environmental law. The breaches include spills of cyanide, benzene, and heavy oils into the air and waterways, and the September 2024 spill alone sent more than a tonne of oil into Thornton Brook and the Mersey Estuary. The EA should focus its narrow oversight on the actual harm, not on drafting a new rulebook that would hit smaller competitors.
The EA has confirmed it is probing the breaches, and a separate criminal probe into the September 2024 events is underway. The agency has not yet said what steps it will take on the 2023 offences. The paper will be watching to see whether the investigation targets the breaches themselves or drifts toward a new rulebook that punishes small refiners while letting EET Fuels pay a fine for admitting its record. The reader should ask the same question.
Source material: “UK oil refinery broke toxic pollution limits dozens of times, documents reveal,” the BBC.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.