MOSSMORRAN has had its fair share of bad press in recent months due to a prolonged flaring incident in June.

ExxonMobil took the blame but what's the future for their Shell neighbours who also have been tainted with the same brush?

It's fair to say that staff at Shell's Fife NGL plant aren't quick to completely wash their hands and say lessons have been learned in recent months.

Although the flaring was not within their control, they have also suffered from flaring in the past and understand ExxonMobil's position.

Teresa Waddington, 35, the new Fife NGL manager, said: "First and foremost we want to avoid flaring at all costs. It is as negative for us as much as the community, and we only do it because it is a safety measure.

"It is not in our interests to flare because customers are not happy that we're not producing and if we shut down for a time then the effects will be felt at home. This plant is part of the national infrastructure.

"We want to be good neighbours but there has been a lack of communication with the community and we want to establish more effective ways to keep them informed."

NHS Fife have said residents had complained of symptoms related to the flaring, such as “breathing difficulties, irritated eyes and even disturbed sleep", but is flaring dangerous?

Teresa continued: "We have worked with the NHS to really understand this question. Data indicating how air quality changes when flaring is carried out has shown there is no link between flaring and health concerns.

"Nevertheless, we do continue to seek data because the concerns and feelings people have are real to them and we do not want to be dismissive."

Shell continue to work with the air quality group and say whether flaring is dangerous is a question that they are keen to answer more than anyone else.

Currently the A92 is showing higher levels of pollution than flaring and so pin-pointing air pollution can be a difficult task.

Mossmorran continues to be an important part of Shell's portfolio as they focus on cleaner energy for the future such as natural gas, and with £350m worth of investment in recent year, the plant is fit for purpose until 2030/40.

Teresa added: "We employee 250 people and we like to hire young people from the local area.

"We gave £93,000 of social investment to Fife in 2016 and £28,000 in charitable donations. There are many different initiatives that the community can get involved in on a national scale, but specifically in Fife we have been delivering our Girls in Energy programme for the last several years.

"It's a one year National Five course with Fife College and the girls have support from Shell with work experience and mentors.

"We still invest in the Fife Art Exhibition that has been running for 34 years now and have been working with police in Lochgelly to deliver the Twilight basketball initiative.

"Police have seen a 58% drop in nuisance calls on a Friday night and Stagecoach have been so impressed that they haven't had any trouble that they've advertised it for free on their buses.

"You can see that there is a general desire on site to open up to the community and I believe as long as we're honest and communicating effectively then the community will at least understand where we are coming from."