Shell announced that it has taken a final investment decision to 'debottleneck' its Singapore ethylene cracker on Pulau Bukom (Bukom Island). This is expected to increase the capacity of olefins and aromatics by more than 20 per cent. Engineering work for the debottleneck will take place during the next maintenance turn-around of the cracker.

The ethylene cracker opened in March 2010 and is a major component of the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) project, Shell's largest-ever petrochemicals investment. It is integrated with Shell's largest refinery, on Pulau Bukom, and with its world-scale mono-ethylene glycol plant on nearby Jurong Island.

"Our Singapore ethylene cracker was designed with potential capacity expansion in mind and I am delighted to confirm this debottlenecking," said Ben van Beurden, Executive Vice President for Shell Chemicals.

"The investment will generate additional volumes to help us meet growing demand from our customers in the region. It will also further unlock value from integration with our refinery and our derivatives activities on Jurong Island. This integration is key to our strategy."

Dr Huck Poh, Manufacturing Director for Shell Singapore, underlined the significance of this investment, "This project reinforces Shell's commitment to Singapore, which is already our largest petrochemicals production and export centre in the Asia Pacific region."