Defunct biodiesel plants on Jurong Island get new lease of life

A new wave of recycling is taking place on Jurong Island. Defunct first-generation which became uneconomical when palm oil prices soared are being revived as new owners upgrade them to make other products like chemicals for oil and gas drilling. The rejuvenation of Northfield-based Stepan Company is the first of these. The financial terms of the acquisition of the US$20 million plant – previously a joint venture involving Germany’s Peter Kremer and Malaysia’s Kulim Berhad – were not disclosed. After acquiring Peter Cremer’s 100,000-ton per annum (tpa) methyl ester plant in July last year, the American chemical company is currently upgrading it and installing another fractionation column at the Singapore plant to potentially double its capacity to 200,000 tpa. The plant’s upgrading and expansion, scheduled for completion in February next year, will enable Stepan to produce surfactants used in oilfields. Stepan’s surfactants are used in three major oilfield market segments, including drilling, production and stimulation. Another Jurong Island biodiesel plant which looks set to go the same route is the Australian-owned Natural Fuel Pte Ltd. which folded up in late-2009. It is understood to have changed hands recently, but no details are available at this time. (January 31, 2011)