Singapore to build first LPG terminal in chemicals-hub upgrade

25 May 2010 07:00  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Plans for Singapore’s first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal are currently being studied under a new government-led upgrade plan for the country’s chemicals hub at Jurong Island, an official source said on Tuesday.

When completed, the new LPG terminal would likely import gas feedstock to supplement the naphtha that petrochemical crackers on the island are using, said the source from JTC Corporation (JTC), an industrial development branch of the government.

The new terminal is part of the recently announced “Jurong Island version 2.0” initiative to boost the competitiveness of the city-state’s petrochemical industry in the next decade.

The initiative was first announced by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsian Loong at the opening ceremony of the Shell Eastern Petrochemical Complex earlier this month.

A second link from Jurong Island to the mainland had also been planned to “help the flow of a growing workforce,” said the source.

Nearly 40,000 workers travel to Jurong Island on a daily basis, and the number was set to grow as more petrochemical companies set up base at the hub, the source said.

The growing number of commuters had made it necessary to improve the transportation link to, and within, the island, the source added.

“We are also building a barging terminal to transport hazardous products in and out of the island,” the source said.

The JTC source said that the initiative was primarily aimed at boosting energy efficiency and “overcoming resource limitations” at the Jurong Island chemicals hub.

JTC and the city-state’s Economic Development Board (EDB) will lead the upgrades on the island, with consultancy studies currently being done to assess five key areas of the initiative – energy, logistics, feedstock options, environment and water, according to the source.

Singapore has 95 global petrochemical companies based at its Jurong Island chemicals hub, including Shell Chemicals and ExxonMobil Chemical. The city-state manufactures a variety of basic chemicals as well as polymers and specialty products.

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By: Nurluqman Suratman

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