MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell has taken a final investment decision tol increase production capacity at its Singapore petrochemical plant to meet demand for specialized materials used in the automotive and furniture industries, as per the company's press release.
The upgrade will increase the plant's capacity to produce polyols -- industrial chemicals used to make high-quality foams -- by more than 100,000 metric tpy to 360,000 tpy. The project is expected to be completed in 2014.
"The Asia Pacific market for polyols has grown rapidly over the years and we see increasing demand for higher-comfort products," said Shell Chemicals executive vice president Graham van't Hoff.
"The additional volume and grades from this Singapore investment will enable us to meet customer demand growth from key markets in Asia, particularly China," he added.
As MRC informed earlier, Shell announced in mid-November that it will upgrade its petrochemical plant in Singapore to meet rising demand for ethylene in Asia. The upgrade will increase the plant's capacity to produce olefins and aromatics industrial chemicals used to make plastic, paint and other products by more than 20%. The upgrade will take place during the next maintenance turn-around of the ethylene cracker.
Polyols are compounds with multiple hydroxyl functional groups available for organic reactions. Polymeric polyols are generally used to produce other polymers. They are reacted with isocyanates to make polyurethanes used to make mattresses, foam insulation for appliances, home and automotive seats, elastomeric shoe soles, fibers, and adhesives.
Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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