Singapore houses Shell's largest petrochemical project

Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex is part of company’s drive to grow in Asian petrochemicals market.

Shell on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) project in Singapore. SEPC is Shell's largest petrochemicals investment to date and the second world-scale petrochemicals project the company has completed in Asia in four years. The completion of the project reinforces Shell's intention to remain a leading player in the expanding Asian petrochemicals market.

Shell designed the new facilities to maximise the benefits of locating refining and petrochemicals production within a single manufacturing hub on Bukom and Jurong islands, just off the Singapore coast. Jurong Island is a major petrochemical zone which provides opportunities for further integration with current and potential customers, as well as in Shell's own operations.

Each of the new chemical production units started up as planned. They include a world-scale ethylene cracker, which started up in March, and one of the world's largest mono-ethylene glycol plants, which has been producing since November 2009. The project also included modifications to the Shell Pulau Bukom Refinery, enabling it to process a wider range of crudes to supply feedstock to the cracker. A new ethylene jetty and cryogenic terminal enable the import and export of ethylene.