Why Singapore is Asia's Undisputed Oil Hub

Reigning supreme as the world’s top shipping centre for the sixth year running (beating the likes of Hong Kong, London, Shanghai and Dubai), Singapore is cementing its status as the ‘undisputed Oil hub in Asia’ and leading the way in the Oil & Gas industry.

To gain a better understanding of Singapore’s success and future within the energy industry, we’re taking a closer look at some of the exciting projects and key developments within the country.

World's largest semi-submersible crane vessel - the Sleipner

Singapore is fully embracing its innovative side within the Oil & Gas industry, boasting many ground-breaking projects. Earlier this year, Sembcorp Marine (the country’s leading marine and offshore engineering company) completed their build of the world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessel, the ‘Sleipner’.

Armed with the strongest pair of revolving cranes for offshore oil, gas and renewable energy installation and decommissioning jobs, the vessel is a piece of game-changing machinery that can lift loads of up to 20,000 tonnes in tandem - the equivalent of lifting approximately 3,000 Elephants, or 2.5 million bowling balls.

Sleipner has not only been a record-breaking event for the Oil & Gas industry but an excellent development for Singapore’s workforce, with construction of the vessel involving up to 3,700 workers in a single shift at its peak.

As well as being the world’s largest crane vessel, the Sleipnir is also making history as it is the world’s first crane vessel with dual-fuel engines running on Marine Gas Oil (MGO) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

World’s first crude steam cracker reducing energy consumption and emissions

Singapore, dubbed “the undisputed oil hub in Asia”, is also taking some positive steps towards reducing emissions, which are harmful to the environment, recently announcing a commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 36% by 2030.

Singapore’s government has been proactive in their mission to provide a cleaner and greener environment, reaching out to the public for their ideas and feedback on how they can achieve this. Not only that, but this year has also seen the beginning of carbon tax, meaning that businesses producing 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions in a year will have to pay a $5 tax per tonne. Depending on the effectiveness of this scheme, the rate may increase to $10 and $15 when it is reviewed in 2023.

ExxonMobil, one of Singapore’s largest investors with assets of over $20billion, has shown its support for increasing energy efficiency in more ways than one. Recently contributing a unique innovation with its launch of the world’s first crude steam cracker, capable of cracking crude oil at the companies multi-billion dollar complex, on Singapore’s Jurong Island.

ExxonMobil Chemical’s president, Stephen Pryor, said “The cracker we’ve built is by far the most feed flexible cracker we’ve ever built. It can crack anything from light gases to heavy liquids, including crude oil. The new technology helps reduce raw material costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions, while the cracker also produces fuel components.”

In a bid to support Singapore’s efforts to increase efficiency, ExxonMobil also introduced Cogeneration technology at its refinering on Jurong Island, back in October 2017.

This innovative energy efficiency technology captures the heat that is generated from the production of electricity, which is then transferred and used in production, refining and chemical processing operations. Not only does this ensure Oil & Gas production is at the forefront of latest developments within the industry, but also provides a support towards the country’s commitment to lower carbon emissions. To read more on Cogeneration Technology, click here.