Gas supply disruption causes massive blackout in Singapore: Update 2

Singapore was struck by a blackout that affected 30 percent of its power generating capacity late Tuesday after unknown causes triggered the emergency shutdown of a valve in the pipe that delivers natural gas from Indonesia to three power plants, Dow Jones newswires reported.

ConocoPhillips, the operator of the gas receiving station in Singapore, is still in the process of determining the cause of the valve's shutdown, which interrupted the gas flow from its facility, said a company official on Wednesday.

Kevin Pewitt, a company official, told reporters that there were seven to eight possibilities why the emergency shutdown at the facility in Singapore was triggered.

Pewitt said ConocoPhillips is narrowing down the numerous possibilities, and expects to determine the root cause of the valve closure "within a day or two."

Officials, including those from power plants affected by the gas supply interruption, explained that an emergency valve shutdown - particularly when it occurs just kilometers away from the power plants - makes switching from gas to diesel at the combined cycle turbines "complicated".

Valves are a safety mechanism that control the flow of high pressure, highly inflammable gas from the source to the receiving station. (*)