Shell officially opens its monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island. With a nameplate capacity of 750,000 tonnes of MEG per annum, the 100% Shell-owned unit is one of the largest MEG plants in the world. This plant is a key component of the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC), which is on track for full completion in early 2010. When SEPC is fully operational, it will be Shell’s largest, fully-integrated refinery and petrochemicals hub, bringing economic and efficiency benefits in terms of feedstocks, operations and logistics.

This new MEG plant marks another technology first for Shell. It is the first time Shell is using its award-winning OMEGA processing technology. The OMEGA process gives the highest commercial yields of MEG from ethylene. Production and operating costs are lower than a traditional MEG plant, less steam is consumed and less wastewater produced.

Mr Ben van Beurden, Shell Executive Vice President Chemicals, said:“ Singapore is already Shell’s largest petrochemical production and export centre in the Asia-Pacific region, and the SEPC project is Shell’s largest Downstream investment in Singapore. The successful completion of the MEG plant,” he continued, “signifies another significant step in our strategy to grow our Chemicals business selectively to meet the needs of our Asia Pacific customers.”

MEG is a key petrochemical intermediate that is used in the production of a wide range of consumer and industrial products, such as polyester fibres for clothing and furnishings, safety equipment, PET bottles, film, anti-freeze, coolants and others. The majority of the MEG produced at this new plant will be consumed in the Asia Pacific region, which accounts for 70% of global MEG consumption.