Shell Petrochemicals Complex, Singapore

As part of the development of their downstream business in the Far East, Shell as its subsidiary Shell Eastern Petroleum is proceeding with a plan to construct one of the largest integrated petrochemical complexes in the world.

With the ongoing demand for chemical resources produced from hydrocarbon feedstocks, Shell will capitalise on its resources in Asia to bring the new facilities into production by 2010. Shell remains committed to grow chemical investments in the Asia-Pacific region and the new plant is another example of their 'Grow East' strategy.

The demand for monoethylene glycol (MEG) from China and the rest of Asia is set to increase to over 20,000kt by 2015 and Shell is determined to have the capacity to satisfy that demand.

The project will require the services of between 6,000 and 8,000 people at its peak and represents Shell's largest-ever chemical investment in Singapore. When the new facilities are in production they will require around 200 skilled personnel.

BASIC DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

In July 2006, with Shell taking the final investment decision to build the petrochemicals complex, Foster Wheeler Ltd announced that its UK subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited (FWEL), and its Singapore subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Eastern Private Limited (FWEPL), had been awarded contracts by Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd (SEPL) for two Basic Design Engineering Packages (BDEP) associated with a global-scale Ethylene Oxide / Mono-Ethylene Glycol (EO/MEG) plant (possibly the largest in the world) and a significant refinery modification project in Singapore.

FWEL is executing the BDEP for the new EO/MEG plant on Jurong Island and FWEPL is executing the BDEP for the modifications at the Pulau Bukom refinery, located on an adjacent island.

PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION

The groundbreaking took place in October 2006. The facility will include an 800,000tpa ethylene cracker on Bukom Island and a 750,000tpa EO/MEG plant on Jurong Island south of mainland Singapore using Shell's proprietary Omega technology. The project scope also includes modifications and additions to the Bukom refinery.

Start-up of the new and modified facilities is expected in 2009/2010. The EO/MEG plant will use feedstock from the ethylene cracker.

Both the cracker and the EO/MEG plant are part of an overall investment program, which includes integration of the new facilities with Shell's existing refinery at Bukom to capitalise on the benefits of oil-chemicals integration.

The Bukom refinery modifications will include revamp of existing units, addition of new units (sulphur recovery and high vacuum), new and revamped tankage facilities, plus tie-ins and interconnections.

In March 2007 the first piles were driven on Pulau Bukom and Jurong Island. Land reclamation works by JTC Corp for the cracker project were successfully completed and handed over in January 2007. A dormitory to house 1,500 workers on the MEG plant on Jurong Island was completed in April 2007 and will be in operation from June onwards. A dormitory for staff working on the ethylene cracker is under construction on Pulau Bukom and will be home to 3,000 workers by August 2007.

BUTADIENE EXTRACTION

During the final quarter of 2006 US-based ABB Lummus Global announced that it had been awarded a contract from Shell in relation to a 155,000tpa butadiene unit. The contract covers a licence and basic engineering of a grassroots facility.

In April 2007 Shell (Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd) took the Final Investment Decision (FID) and launched a new butadiene extraction unit construction project in Singapore on Pulau Bukom. The butadiene unit will use proprietary technology from ABB Lummus Global / BASF. This technology utilises n-methylpyrrolidone as a solvent which results in high-purity butadiene and low operating costs.

The project will be part of the world-scale Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) scheduled to start-up in 2009/2010. Shell is one the largest global marketers of butadiene. It has now contracted a large part of the new plant capacity for butadiene to customers, and discussions are in progress with a number of potential customers for raffinate-1.

Butadiene is used primarily in the production of polymers, co-polymers and chemical intermediates. Examples include styrene-butadiene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, adiponitrile and butanediol.

ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS

In July 2005 TOYO was awarded the EPC (Engineering, Procuring and Constructtion) contract for the implementation phase of the Bukom Island ethylene cracker, in a joint venture with ABB Lummus Global.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation was selected by Shell in May 2007 to supply and fit automation systems for the new petrochemicals complex and the refinery upgrading.

PRODUCTION

The cracker on Bukom Island will produce olefins and aromatics, basic feedstocks that will be utilised by existing and new ventures on Jurong Island. The output of the new monoethylene glycol plant will help to meet growing regional demand for this product.

The main products that will be produced by the petrochemical complex will include:

• Ethylene – 800,000tpa
• Propylene – 450,000tpa
• Benzene – 230,000tpa
• Monoethylene glycol – 750,000tpa
• Butadiene – 155,000tpa

MEG PLANT TECHNOLOGY

The monoethylene glycol plant will incorporate technology to achieve the highest commercial yield from ethylene to glycol. Applying this technology will also ensure that much less water will be used in the process and virtually no by-products will be created, which is extremely energy efficient.

The plant will use Shell's OMEGA process. The OMEGA process combines a CRI high selectivity catalyst for the conversion of ethylene to Ethylene Oxide (EO) with a catalytic process to convert EO to glycol.

In the conventional ethylene oxide / glycol process, ethylene reacts with pure oxygen at the 'front end' to produce ethylene oxide, producing CO2 as a by-product.

There is some distillation to clean off the EO and then it moves to the 'back end' glycol section.

A lot of water is used to react EO not only into MEG but also into by-products like diethylene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG). The OMEGA process in the 'back end' glycol section uses CO2 to convert EO into ethylene carbonate, which is then reacted with water to produce MEG with almost no by-products. Catalytic glycol production technology developed by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation will allow for production of the final product.

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