Shell Singapore has been charged over two separate oil leak incidents at its Pulau Bukom facility in 2024, including one that allegedly discharged about 40 tonnes of oily mixture into Singapore waters.
The company is also accused of failing to report both incidents immediately, according to charges heard in court on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.
About 40 Tonnes Allegedly Discharged in October 2024
The first incident took place on 20 October 2024.
According to the charge, approximately 40 tonnes of oily mixture entered Singapore waters through a hole in a pipeline at the Shell Singapore Energy and Chemicals Park at about 8am.
Shell allegedly informed the port master only at about 12.55pm that day.
At the time of the incident, government agencies said that an estimated 30 to 40 metric tonnes of “slop”, a mixture of oil and water, had leaked from a land-based pipeline into the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil.
Authorities and Shell carried out clean-up operations, while precautionary measures were put in place at locations including Sentosa, East Coast Park and Labrador Nature Reserve.
The clean-up was completed later that month, with authorities saying on 30 October 2024 that there had been no further oil sightings at sea or ashore since the incident was first reported.
Second Leak Allegedly Continued for Nearly Two Days
The second incident occurred in December 2024.
Court documents allege that between about 485kg and 956kg of an oil mixture was discharged into Singapore waters between 9.30am on 26 December and 8.30am on 28 December.
Shell allegedly reported the incident at about 11.50am on 26 December rather than immediately.
Government agencies said at the time that oil sheens had been spotted near the Pulau Bukom facility. Shell shut down an oil processing unit while investigations were carried out.
By 28 December, the leak had stopped and the clean-up of light oil sheens off Pulau Bukom had been completed. No oil sheens or patches were observed in waters off Sentosa, according to the authorities.
The December incident involved a different system from the pipeline involved in the October leak.
Pollution Incidents Must Be Reported Without Delay
Singapore’s Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act requires an occupier of a land-based facility to report an actual or probable discharge of oil or an oily mixture into Singapore waters to the port master.
The law states that such occurrences must be reported promptly. Failure to do so can attract a fine of up to S$5,000.
For an offence involving the discharge of oil or an oily mixture from a place on land into Singapore waters, an entity can face a fine ranging from S$1,000 to S$1 million if convicted. An individual convicted of the same offence may additionally face up to two years’ jail.
CNA reported that Shell is also facing prosecution by the National Environment Agency over the same incidents.
A Shell representative requested an eight-week adjournment, saying the company needed time to obtain internal instructions, appoint lawyers and retrieve historical records. She told the court that the business linked to the incidents had been divested in 2025.
The case has been adjourned to October.
