With pressure mounting on big oil to invest in a major sustainability drive, is Singapore’s energy industry primed for a transformation?
Industry faces disruption amid Shell’s review of S’pore business
Shell’s decision in June to assess the viability of its plants on Pulau Bukom and Jurong Island says more about the challenges to the global petroleum industry than the future of Asia’s fifth-largest refining hub.
The “strategic review” announced by the London-based energy giant has sparked talk that the company may sell its plants or decommission them if a suitable buyer cannot be found.
Alternatively, the company – which celebrated 130 years in Singapore in 2021 – may decide to repurpose its plants to produce a different slate of products.
ExxonMobil to stick with S’pore through ‘ups and downs’, says top exec
ExxonMobil has been growing its business in Singapore while working on reducing its carbon footprint and helping others to do so.
The American energy giant, which celebrates 130 years of operations in Singapore in 2023, said its multibillion-dollar Resid Upgrade project for producing lubricant base stocks is on track for planned start-up in 2025.
Ms Geraldine Chin, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, said the project will deploy proprietary technology to convert “bottom-of-the-barrel” products into cleaner fuels and lubricant base stocks for which demand is expected to grow across Asia.
Pivot to sustainability will boost energy and chemicals growth in S’pore: EDB
A transformed and more sustainable energy and chemicals sector will remain an attractive growth proposition, said the Economic Development Board (EDB).
Mr Damian Chan, its executive vice-president, told The Straits Times the global shift to a lower-carbon economy requires all sectors, especially the energy and chemicals sector, to transform and innovate.
“Singapore intends to support our climate goals by decarbonising existing industry while growing opportunities in the green economy,” he said.
