Three contract workers injured at Shell Convent, La. refinery: company

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Three contract workers were injured on Wednesday while working on a hydrogen line on a sulfur unit at Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Convent, Louisiana, refinery, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

A flash fire broke out on the hydrogen pipe, said two sources familiar with plant operations. At least two of the workers required medical treatment.

The sulfur unit is shut as part of a planned overhaul of units at the 209,787 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent refinery that includes the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit, the sources said.

"Shell initiated its emergency response plan, which included immediately deploying personnel to respond to the incident," Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said on Thursday. "All appropriate agencies were notified. The cause of the incident is under investigation."

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Kim Coghill and Sunil Nair)