According to oil and gas online news, Shell Eastern Petroleum announced last week its final investment decision for a new ethylene cracker on Singapore's Bukom Island, but the specific investment amount was not disclosed. The project's detailed engineering design and procurement work is progressing in an orderly manner. The ethylene plant will be built later this year, and the new petrochemical plant is expected to be put into production from 2009 to 2010.
This integrated refinery and petrochemical project was named Shell Oriental Petrochemical Plant and is an upgrade and consolidation of the existing Bukom refinery, including 458,000 barrels per day of the Pulau Bukom Refinery and the creation of 750,000 tons per year of monoethylene glycol. (MEG) device. The cracker and MEG unit will be integrated into the Bukom refinery, and the 800,000-ton/year cracker will supply the MEG unit with raw materials. By fully integrating with existing Bukom refineries, ethylene and MEG plants will have raw material and operating advantages.
The ethylene plant will have a production capacity of 800,000 tons/year and will supply raw materials to the planned 750,000 tons/year MEG unit and the existing joint venture derivative plant and to the main users of Jurong Island through submarine pipelines.
The MEG device will use Shell's proprietary technology and most of the products will be sold in the region.