ExxonMobil reiterates phased start-up at second Singapore complex

25 January 2011 09:48  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--ExxonMobil on Tuesday reiterated that mechanical completion and start-up of most facilities at its second petrochemical complex on Jurong Island, Singapore, will be in phases this year.

“The scale, complexity and interdependence of the units of this project requires that the start-up process be done carefully and in sequence,” ExxonMobil said in an e-mailed statement.

Local newspaper, The Business Times, reported that the start-up of the $5bn-6bn (€3.7bn-4.4bn) ExxonMobil complex may be delayed to 2012 from the second half of this year.

ExxonMobil said: “Exact dates will be determined when we can ensure that start-up and continuing operations can be conducted safely and in a reliable manner.

“We cannot provide exact dates at this time.  The start-up process for many of the units can take months,” the petrochemical major said.

The Business Times, quoting unnamed sources, reported that soil subsidence and delays from underground pipelines being installed late at a crucial plant site caused some contractors to miss work deadlines, potentially pushing back the start-up of the project by three to six months.

ExxonMobil’s second petrochemical project in Singapore will have a 1m tonne/year cracker complex and associated derivative units, including two 650,000 tonne/year polyethylene (PE) units and a 450,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit.

An oxo-alcohols expansion project at the complex was completed and started up in July 2009.

The company’s first petrochemical project on Jurong Island, the Singapore Chemical Plant, was completed in 2001, according to the ExxonMobil’s website.

($1 = €0.73)

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By: Nurluqman Suratman

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