ExxonMobil officially opened its third cogeneration plant in Singapore last week, to boost energy efficiency at its Jurong refinery.

The 84-megawatt plant uses natural gas and waste heat from the refinery to generate both electricity and steam in order to power plant operations, replacing two older and less efficient boilers. The third cogeneration plant will improve the refinery’s energy efficiency by up to 5% and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 265 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli, who was the guest of honor at the opening ceremony, said the facility contributes towards Singapore’s pledge under the Paris climate change agreement to significantly reduce its emissions intensity by 2030. Singapore will start imposing a carbon tax on large emitters in 2019, which will be used to help industries implement emissions reduction programs.

“We are aware of industry concerns over the impact of the carbon tax on competitiveness, given that Singapore is an export-oriented economy,” he said.

“The measures we are putting in place will facilitate Singapore’s transition to energy-efficient and low-carbon growth,” he added.

ExxonMobil is one of Singapore’s largest foreign manufacturing investors with more than SGD20 billion (USD14.8 billion) in fixed assets. Its Singapore affiliate ExxonMobil Asia Pacific has manufacturing facilities, including a fuels refinery, base oil refinery, lube and grease blending and packaging plant and a petrochemical plant.