Mobil opens $250m plant in Singapore

Mobil opens $250m plant in Singapore

SINGAPORE (AFP): U.S. oil giant Mobil Corp. formally opened here yesterday a lube base oil plant costing US$250 million, bringing its total investments in Singapore to more than two billion dollars.

"Mobil is committed to this area. We're in here for the long term," Mobil chairman and chief executive Lucio Noto told a news conference.

One of the biggest of its kind in the world, the plant can produce 8,000 barrels a day of base oils that can be blended into such products as hydraulic, compressor, gear and engine oils, industrial oil products and lubricants.

Company officials said lubricant demand was projected to grow by 3.5 percent annually in Asia over the next four years.

Andy Swiger, general manager for manufacturing of Mobile Oil Singapore Pte. Ltd., said the facility was the first in Southeast Asia to use catalytic hydroprocessing technology, which results in higher yields and faster processing.

Mobil already has a 300,000-barrel-per-day crude refinery and a petrochemical plant with a capacity of 800 metric tons a year of benzene and paraxylene, which serve as raw materials for plastics and other products.

Mobil's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore covers more than 20 countries in Asia. Official said Singapore accounts for nearly 10 percent of Mobil's investments worldwide.

Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, officiating at the lube plant's opening, said Singapore must continue to attract high- value added, technology-intensive and knowledge-based industries.

Singapore is investing some US$5 billion in developing Jurong island, an amalgamation of seven islets designed to be a petroleum and petrochemical refining and shipment hub.

Singapore is also investing in educating and upgrading the skills of its workers to equip them for such industries, he added.