Channel NewsAsia: S’pore can still be energy hub despite growing competition

Channel NewsAsia recently reported Mr Lee Kwan Yew as saying that Singapore will remain an energy hub due to its efficiency, and what it has always offered – sound infrastructure of security, stability, safety and predictability.

S’pore can still be energy hub despite growing competition

SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said Singapore can continue to stand out as an energy hub despite growing competition because of its efficiency and stability.

He was speaking at a charity dinner on Sunday organised by Shell to mark its 120th anniversary.

The dinner was attended mainly by people in the energy industry.

And one of the themes of the dialogue was the impact of the increasing world population on energy, food and water security.

Mr Lee said the growing populations in India, China and the rest of the region will affect the South East Asian economy.

And the problems of global warming and rising population will have a detrimental effect on the living environment, when those from underdeveloped countries move to developed places.

But Mr Lee said Singapore maintains a policy of picking and choosing its immigrants, noting that its problem of low fertility rates was one with no easy solutions.

Asked if Singapore will be affected by the establishment of a petrochemical hub at Malaysia’s Johor Iskandar region, Mr Lee said it is an issue of which country is more efficient.

He added that Singapore was able to attract Shell to set up a refinery on Pulau Bukom in 1961 because of the country’s sound infrastructure.

“We had no oil, but what we provided Shell with was security, stability, safety and predictability,” said Mr Lee.

Image taken from Gerard Stolk en route

Channel NewsAsia: Fire at Shell manufacturing site

Channel NewsAsia reported on the fire at Shell’s Pulau Bukom offshore petroleum complex at 3pm on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Reuters, the ethylene cracker is operating normally. Shell initially said that the fire at been contained in the late afternoon, but later on said that the fire had intensified again.

Fire at Shell manufacturing site

SINGAPORE: A fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the manufacturing site of oil company Shell on Pulau Bukom.

A spokesperson from Shell said the fire started at about 1.15pm.

The fire has been contained. No injuries were reported.

The rest of the site’s operations were not affected.

Shell said safety is a top priority and it’s working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force sent two fire engines, two fire bikes, one Red Rhino and eight support vehicles when it was alerted at 1.18pm.

When its firefighters arrived at the scene, Pulau Bukom’s in-house firefighting team was already fighting the fire with eight water jets. SCDF sent two more large water jets for the operation.

It said the fire was brought under control in about one hour.

The 500,000-barrels-a-day refinery is Shell’s largest refinery in the world, in terms of crude distillation capacity. This makes Singapore a key regional supply and trading centre for the Group in the East.

Some 90 per cent of Bukom’s products are exported to countries in the region and beyond.

Image taken from Gerard Stolk en route

Bloomberg: Shell May Start Ethylene Plant in Singapore’s Pulau Bukom After Mid-May

Bloomberg today reported that Shell’s ethylene plant, located in Pulau Bukom, is most likely to start up after mid-May, after running into some technical difficulties. The full story below.

Shell May Start Ethylene Plant in Singapore’s Pulau Bukom After Mid-May

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) reiterated that its ethylene plant at Pulau Bukom, Singapore, may only start up after the middle of this month.

The “earliest possible” restart isn’t expected before the middle of May, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. Shell shut the plant on March 18 because of technical problems, according to the notice. The company said April 11 that the facility isn’t expected to start up before mid-May.

“Our manufacturing and technology teams have been working round the clock and continue to work hard to determine the cause of the technical problems,” Shell said. “Repairs are being carried out with the utmost urgency to fix these technical problems.”

The European refiner declared force majeure on some chemical contracts from the plant because of unplanned operational issues, according to an e-mail from the company on March 21. Force majeure is a legal clause allowing companies to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.

The Singapore cracker complex has the ability to turn naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas and heavy hydrocarbons into chemicals. It has an annual capacity to produce 800,000 metric tons of ethylene, 450,000 tons of propylene and 230,000 tons of benzene, according to the company’s website.

Image taken from Gerard Stolk en route