Exxon starts S'pore plant

Exxon starts S'pore plant

SINGAPORE (Reuters): U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil said on Tuesday
it has begun operations at a US$2 billion world-scale chemical
complex on Jurong Island in Singapore, the company's single
largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

Traders said the plant's commercial operation was likely to
hammer regional chemical fundamentals, which are already in the
doldrums because of weak demand and poor margins.

The complex comprises four plants and is integrated into
ExxonMobil's 285,000 barrel per day refinery.

At the center of operations is an 800,000 ton per year (tpy)
steam cracker, which is only topped in Asia by a 900,000 tpy unit
operated by Formosa Petrochemical Corp in Taiwan.

The cracker produces among other chemicals ethylene and
propylene, the basic building blocks of the petrochemical
industry which are used for plastic packaging, containers and
films, detergents, cosmetics and paints.

The Singapore plant also features a 480,000 tpy polyethylene
plant, a 315,000 tpy polypropylene plant and a 150,000 tpy oxo
alcohol plant.