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.