Royal Dutch Shell Plans to Restart Ethylene Cracker Unit in Singapore
Royal Dutch Shell plc is expected to restart
the operations of its ethylene cracker plant at Pulau Bukom, Singapore
Singapore: Royal Dutch Shell plc, a Netherland
based multinational oil and gas company, has announced its plans to put
its Ethylene Cracker Complex (ECC), located at Pulau Bukom, back into
operations after an unplanned shutdown of the plant on September 27, 2016. The
emergency shutdown was done to repair a compressor in cracker plant. Thus, on
September 29, 2016 the company declared a force majeure on its competency to
offer base chemicals to its customers. Company’s petrochemicals complex
consists of a steam cracker, with an ethylene production capacity of 960,000 mt/year,
propylene production capacity of 540,000 mt/year and butadiene production
capacity of 186,000 mt/year. The declined supply of chemicals due to a long
shutdown of the plant had caused other chemicals derivate manufacturers to
increase their production capacities.
TechSci
Research depicts that restart of the
petrochemicals plant of Shell for production of ethylene would cater to the
unmet demand for ethylene in the country. This facility would contribute to the growing demand
for ethylene and its various derivates across various end user industries in
the world.
According to a recent report published
by TechSci Research, “Global
Ethylene Market By End Use, By Region, Competition
Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2025”, the global ethylene market is expected to grow at a CAGR
of around 11.26% during 2016-2025, on the back of growing demands for flexible
packaging materials, disposable items and expanding real estate &
construction sector, globally. Increasing awareness among people about package
labelling and its advantages, along with production of light weight automobiles
and expanding infrastructure sector in developing countries is expected to
result in augmented demand for ethylene and its derivatives. Global ethylene
market is controlled by three major players, namely – SABIC, The Dow Chemical
Company and Exxon Mobil Corporation.