ExxonMobil opens Singapore butyl and resins plants

Company’s largest integrated factory to raises Hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl production capacity 90,000 tonnes and 140,000 tonnes a year respectively

On 21 June 2018 ExxonMobil announced it had started production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world. ExxonMobil’s new Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year, and will meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonnes-per-year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used by manufacturers for tyres to better maintain inflation to improve fuel economy.

“These new plants enhance the competitiveness and strategic importance of ExxonMobil’s integrated manufacturing facility in Singapore, and are part of the company’s long-term plan for advantaged investments around the world,” said John Verity, president of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “We remain committed to safe and environmentally-responsible operations as we manufacture products that support better living standards and economic progress for a fast-growing middle class population in Asia Pacific.”

The company reports that keeping tyres properly inflated can help save about a billion gallons (or 38 billion litres) of fuel and result in an estimated emissions reduction of eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to the emissions of about 2.5 million cars worldwide.

Furthermore, ExxonMobil reports that construction of the multi-billion dollar expansion project was completed safely and on schedule. The project employed more than 5,500 contract workers at the peak of construction. The plants add 140 jobs to ExxonMobil’s existing workforce of more than 2,500 at its Singapore manufacturing complex. ExxonMobil has more than 4,000 employees in Singapore.

The startup of these two new plants follows ExxonMobil’s earlier acquisition of one of the world’s largest aromatics production facilities in Singapore last year.

“With these latest additions, we are well-positioned to serve customers in key Asian growth markets,” said Gan Seow Kee, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. “The expansion helps to further establish Singapore as a key producer of fuels and petrochemical products, particularly products that help our customers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.”

The new plants expand on ExxonMobil’s flexible steam cracking capability in Singapore, which provides a range of feedstocks for upgraded specialty products to meet growing long-term demand in Asia Pacific. The Singapore complex also includes a new cogeneration unit at the refinery, bringing the total cogeneration capacity of the site to over 440 megawatts, which will help reduce emissions and support more efficient use of energy.

“ExxonMobil’s continued investments in Singapore underscores our efforts to be a competitive location for high value chemicals manufacturing to serve fast growing markets in Asia,” said Chng Kai Fong, managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board. “Such investments are aligned with EDB’s efforts to build a strong Singaporean core as workers will undergo upgrading to build new capabilities and take on high value-added jobs.”

ExxonMobil is one of Singapore’s largest foreign manufacturing investors with over S$25 billion in fixed asset investments. Our Singapore affiliate, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, (EMAPPL) has manufacturing facilities which include refinery operations in Jurong and a world-scale petrochemical plant on Jurong Island. EMAPPL has a network of service stations under the Esso brand and is a supplier of cylinder cooking gas. EMAPPL also serves the commercial market with its industrial, aviation and marine fuels and lubricants.