TWO flares can be seen for miles away as teams at Fawley refinery respond to an “operational incident”.

Exxon Mobil confirmed that earlier this evening they had "experienced an operational issue" on one of its units.

Flares can be seen burning for miles away as the teams respond to address the situation.

The firm has also warned that the on-site siren may be audible and is part of the procedures.

On Twitter, the oil firm said: “We are currently dealing with an operational matter onsite. Our teams have responded and are working to address the situation.

"Our onsite siren may be audible and is part of our procedures. Please continue to monitor Twitter for more information.”

Daily Echo: Fawley refinery flaresFawley refinery flares (Image: Newsquest)

In a statement, Exxon Mobil said: "Earlier this evening, we experienced an operational issue on one of our units. Our own on-site teams are responding and working to address the situation and isolate the unit in question.

"We are using our flares, which are part of our standard safety and operational procedures, to assist with this work.

"We apologise if the use of our flares has caused any disturbance."

 

In another tweet, an hour later, it added: “As our teams continue to address the operational incident, our flares are currently operational and will be visible to the community.

"This is part of our normal safety procedures. Please continue to monitor our account for further updates. We apologise for any disturbance.”

Firefighters have not been called to the incident.

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