Sumitomo Chemical will build naphtha storage tanks and a wharf where large ships transporting the feedstock can dock at a petrochemical plant in Singapore, as per Nikkei Asian Review. The Japanese company is expected to invest 8 bln yen to 9 bln yen (US$69.6 -78.3 mln) in the project, set for completion in 2017. Sumitomo Chemical aims to pare costs by enhancing and streamlining the process of taking in petrochemical feedstock. The facilities will be built at a plant operated by PCS, a company in which Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell group also owns a stake. The tanks will have a capacity of 240,000 kiloliters. The naphtha currently is stored in tanks leased from other companies.
The wharf will be able to dock tankers with a capacity of 50,000 to 70,000 tons -- doubling the size that can be accommodated. This will cut drop-offs by naphtha tankers to once every eight to 10 days from once per four to five days. PCS procures naphtha via pipeline from nearby refineries and also imports it from the Middle East. The new tanks, in addition to reducing costs, will enable Sumitomo Chemical to more easily blend naphtha suitable for its plants, reducing the burden on them.
15-Mar-16 
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