Stolt-Nielsen to build tank farm on Jurong Island

Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen is planning to build a 325,000-cubic meter chemical storage terminal on Jurong Island, Singapore which will likely be one of the last tank farms allowed there given the limited land on the petrochemicals island. The project has been given the green light by the Economic Development Board, and will be undertaken by the group’s Tankers & Terminals Division, the company said. The project will be ready just as the two new mega petrochemical complexes of ExxonMobil and Shell start up operations in 2010-2011. Stolt-Nielsen did not comment on the estimated project cost, but industry sources said it should easily exceed US$100 million, with the figure likely to be even higher as chemical storage involves a greater number of smaller capacity tanks, as well as specialized equipment, like chillers, depending on the specialty chemicals being stored. The development of the terminal is subject to a number of additional agreements with Singapore authorities, as well as to its own board approval. (July 15, 2008)