ExxonMobil to make final investment decision on Singapore “clean” fuel and Group II base oil project in 2019

ExxonMobil said it plans to make a final investment decision to expand its “clean” fuel and Group II base oil production in Singapore in 2019.

The multi-billion dollar project is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of ExxonMobil’s Singapore refining and petrochemical complex, which is one of the company’s largest integrated fuel, base oil and chemical production sites in the world.

If the project proceeds, the additional production will be onstream by 2023, ExxonMobil said.

“This investment would move it to the top quartile worldwide in terms of refining competitiveness and increase the site’s competitive advantage from crude cracking,” said Bryan Milton, president of ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company.

The expansion would enable ExxonMobil to introduce a new high-viscosity Group II base oil to the market, it said.

The project would also increase ExxonMobil’s output of marine fuels with lower sulphur content in compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirement. IMO’s 0.50% limit on sulphur in fuel oil on board ships outside designated emission control areas will come into effect on 1 January 2020.

Separately, the company said it expects to start producing new Group II base oil and “clean” fuel from an expanded hydrocracker at its Rotterdam refinery in the Netherlands by the end of 2018.