Petrochemical industry and our southern shores

Some of our natural shores in the South are very close to industrial installations there.

Petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom seen from the shores of Pulau Hantu.

The natural shores include Cyrene Reef, Pulau Hantu, Labrador Nature Reserve and Sentosa's Tanjung Rimau shore. Nearby Pulau Jong and the Sisters Islands are also home to some of our natural reefs.
Major industrial installations are located on nearby Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom.

Jurong Island seen from the vast seagrass meadows of Cyrene Reef.

Just how major are these industrial installations?

Highway on Jurong Island diverted for petrochem cracker
Charmian Kok, Business Times 28 May 08;
full article on wildsingapore news

JURONG Island will go to great lengths to accommodate the petrochemical industry - as shown by the near-$100 million Jurong Island Highway diversion project.

'One third of our manufacturing GDP comes from chemicals,' he said. 'We can safely say the bulk of that comes from Jurong Island. If it is an investment that is important to the Singapore economy and adds to the whole value chain, I don't see why we would not divert roads to accommodate it. We need to look at the bigger picture.'

Government will remove hurdles to Jurong Island's boom
ExxonMobil, Shell projects will give big edge to Singapore chemicals sector: PM
Nisha Ramchandani, Business Times 7 Nov 07;
full article on wildsingapore news

ExxonMobil Chemical Company's massive new petrochemical project here will make Jurong Island the company's biggest integrated manufacturing site worldwide and a strong endorsement of Singapore's pro-business environment.

Are there any impacts of petrochemical industries?

Dangers of Singapore as petrochemical hub
Striking a balance between the economy and the environment
Letter from Felix Ang Kok Hou, Straits Times Forum 31 Dec 07
full article on wildsingapore news

A quick search on Google and Wikipedia revealed some startling statistics. Singapore has oil refining capacity of about 1.3 million barrels per day. Malaysia has about 0.5m bpd and Indonesia 1.05m bpd. The US, with the world's largest refining capacity, has 16.7m bpd while Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has 2.08m bpd.

If we look at the per capita numbers, Singapore would be at 0.295 bpd, Malaysia 0.018 bpd, Indonesia 0.0046 bpd, the US 0.055 bpd and Saudi Arabia 0.084 bpd. What this means is that each Singapore resident is bearing more risks of oil refining than probably the rest of the world.

Two groups fear new Shell plant will endanger marine life
Pulau Hantu one of Singapore's last marine beauty spots
Radha Basu The Straits Times, 4 Jul 05
full article on the wildsingapore website

TWO local marine conservation groups have written to oil giant Shell to raise concerns over its plans to build a petrochemical plant on reclaimed land near Pulau Hantu, one of Singapore's last remaining sites teeming with marine life.

The Blue Water Volunteers and Hantu Bloggers fear the colourful sea creatures and age-old coral in the area will die if the reclamation proceeds without proper environmental safeguards.

What are current plans for petrochemicals in the area?

Another major Shell plant on the cards for Singapore
Decision soon on whether US$500m SMPO plant will be sited in Singapore
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 29 May 08;
full article on wildsingapore news

(SINGAPORE) Shell Chemicals is considering Singapore as a possible site for a significant new styrene monomer/propylene oxide (SMPO) plant investment - expected to cost at least US$500 million. This comes even as it is building a US$3 billion-plus petrochemical complex here from which the plant can get its feedstock.

Synthetic rubber plant set up to use Bukom petrochemicals
Synthetic rubber plant gives Singapore more bounce
Lanxess's $834m facility will supply to tyre makers in Asia
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 27 Feb 08;
full article on wildsingapore news

(SINGAPORE) Singapore has landed the world's first entirely-new butyl or synthetic rubber plant investment since 2000.

Singapore gearing up for more oil refineries
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 11 Feb 08
full article on wildsingapore news

The EDB edge: Gearing up for more oil refineries, biomed projects
EDB also hoping to tap new growth area of health, wellness and ageing

(SINGAPORE) From more oil refineries and planning for a third biomedical park in Tuas for drug-makers, to securing lifestyle projects like big-name, international wellness centres - that's what EDB assistant managing director Aw Kah Peng and her team of 70 are working on this year.

Soxal to build $250m hydrogen plant on Jurong Island
Matthew Phan Business Times 16 Jan 08;
full article on wildsingapore news

At a joint press conference yesterday, Singapore Oxygen Air Liquide (Soxal), a subsidiary of French- owned Air Liquide, said it would invest $250 million to build Singapore's first world-class hydrogen facility on Jurong Island to support Neste, as well as other refiners in the area.

Invista builds nitric acid plant on Jurong Island
Matthew Phan, Business Times 14 Nov 07;
full article on wildsingapore news

INVISTA, a US manufacturer of fibres and polymers, is building a US$100 million plant on Jurong Island to make nitric acid, it said at the plant's groundbreaking yesterday.

Nitric acid is a feedstock for adipic acid, which is widely used as an intermediate chemical in many applications, from solvents and lubricants to electronics and cleaning aids.