Sapref shutdown brought forward after worker dies

Cape Town - A planned shutdown at South Africa's largest refinery, the Sapref plant co-owned by Shell and BP, will be brought forward to this week after a worker died in hospital following a flash fire, according to a spokesperson.

The worker, one of three hospitalised after a pipeline fire erupted at the 172 000 barrel a day plant on Friday night, succumbed to his wounds on Sunday.

Two others remain in a stable condition, spokesperson Cindy Govender said.

"In the wake of the incident the Sapref refinery will bring forward a planned site shutdown to this week," she said in a statement, adding that investigations are under way to ascertain the extent of the damage to infrastructure and the cause of the fire.