Oil giant plans US$1b plant

Oil giant plans US$1b plant

SINGAPORE (AP): Royal Dutch/Shell Group is carrying out feasibility studies on building US$1 billion worth of new petrochemical plants in Singapore, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant will decide by the end of 2001 if it will proceed with the project, which would include an ethylene cracker, said Shell spokeswoman Wang Yean Sung.

An ethylene cracker breaks down the chemical ethylene into other chemicals used in the plastics industry.

If the Shell project in Singapore gets the green light, it would begin in 2005 or 2006, Wang said.

Wang said she could not confirm reports that Shell was in talks about teaming up on the project with Japanese firm Sumitomo Chemical Co., which is being merged with Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Singapore's Business Times newspaper reported Thursday that the three companies were having discussions.

Shell has already invested more than $1.6 billion in petrochemical plants in Singapore.