Singapore - Shell will invest in its Jurong Island, Singapore production facility, increasing its existing polyol capacity by more than 100 kilotonnes per annum and adding new polyol grades to its portfolio.
The project is expected to be completed in 2014. Shell did not disclose financial details of the investment.
The polyols upgrading will be achieved by optimising existing facilities and deploying a catalyst that improves the on-site conversion of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide polyols, Shell said in a 5 Feb statement.
"The Asia-Pacific market for polyols has grown rapidly over the years and we see increasing demand for higher-comfort products, hence the requirement for a wider polyols offering," said Graham van't Hoff, executive vice president, Shell Chemicals.
The company added that the additional volume and grades from the Singapore investment with enable it to meet demand growth from key markets in Asia, particularly China.
Van't Hoff noted that Shell had paved the way for the project and other investments when it acquired in 2010 its partner shares in Ethylene Glycols Singapore, which supplies the ethylene oxide used to produce certain grades of polyols.
This polyols expansion project is the latest investment to strengthen Shell's Propylene Oxide & Derivatives business globally. In 2008, Shell completed similar works to increase polyols capacity at its Pernis manufacturing site in the Netherlands. In November 2012, Shell and joint venture partner SABIC announced that they are developing a range of polyols and styrene monomer propylene oxide plants at their Sadaf facility in Saudi Arabia.
LMH
