UpdateExxonMobil Singapore to shut 'several operating units' from 1 May

30 April 2010 13:00  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Energy major ExxonMobil announced on Friday that its integrated refinery and petrochemicals site in Singapore will undergo a six-week turnaround from 1 May.

“This is scheduled maintenance. Shutting the units down will provide an opportunity for detailed inspection of equipment normally in continuous operation; routine maintenance; and installation of facility improvement projects,” the company said in a statement, but left out the details on which  plants were due for shutdown.

The affected plants would likely include a crude distillation unit (CDU) and gasoil hydrodesulphurisation unit of ExxonMobil’s 296,000 bbl/day refinery at Pulau Ayer Chawan (PAC) in Jurong Island, market sources said.

The PAC refinery has two CDUs – one with a capacity of around 113,000 bbl/day, and another with an estimated capacity of 183,000 bbl/day, according to sources.

It was not clear whether just one CDU or the two units would undergo maintenance, market sources said.

ExxonMobil also has a 309,000 bbl/day refinery at Jurong in Singapore’s mainland, based on its website.

The company also runs a mixed feed cracker in Jurong Island which produces 900,000 tonnes/year of ethylene but it was not officially confirmed if this plant would undergo a turnaround.

ExxonMobil’s refinery manufactures a wide range of fuels, lubricant basestocks and specialty products, while the chemical plant comprises five integrated units and is a strategic supply pillar for the company’s business operations in the region.

“We have also communicated the planned maintenance to our customers and we expect to continue meeting their business needs during this period of time,” the company said.

Some of ExxonMobil’s key polymer customers in Asia, meanwhile, said they didn’t know if the producer’s 550,000 tonne/year polyethylene (PE) plant and 275,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) plant in Singapore would be among the plants due to be shut.

The producer had previously given them advance notice during a scheduled maintenance in Singapore last year, but they had not heard from the producer so far, the buyers said.

Meanwhile, the planned shutdown at some of ExxonMobil’s plants would unlikely affect the base oils market, market players said.

“Supply from Exxon seems adequate at present as I got some group I offers from them in the past two weeks,” said a lube blender based in Singapore.

ExxonMobil had said earlier on that it was on track to commission its second petrochemical project in Singapore, which includes a new 1m tonne/year mixed-feed cracker and a host of downstream plants. It had taken delivery of all seven furnace modules required for the new cracker on 19 April.

With additional reporting by James Dennis, Chow Bee Lin, Anu Agarwal and Steve Tan

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By: Nurluqman Suratman

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