Speech by Minister S Iswaran at the Shell Tuas Lubricants Plant opening ceremony

SPEECH BY MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (INDUSTRY) AT THE SHELL TUAS LUBRICANTS PLANT OPENING CEREMONY, 1 NOV 2017, 10.25AM

Mr Huibert Vigeveno, Executive Vice President, Shell Global Commercial,

Ms Goh Swee Chen, Chairperson, Shell Companies in Singapore,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good Morning.

Introduction

1                  I am pleased to join you today at the opening ceremony of Shell’s Tuas Lubricants Plant in the Singapore Lube Park. This is one of the company’s largest lubricant plants globally, with an initial nameplate capacity of 390 kilotons per annum, and it marks another significant milestone in our long standing partnership with Shell.  

Singapore is well positioned to capture the growing demand for lubricants in the region

2                  Demand for lubricants is expected to experience strong growth, and Singapore is well positioned to benefit from the growth in the Asia-Pacific region.  For instance, the global marine lubricants market is estimated to expand at an annual growth rate of 4.17 per cent and reach US$3.33 billion by 2024. Asia-Pacific accounted for over 51 per cent of this market in 2015, and will likely drive future demand. As a leading container port, many ships calling at Singapore can be served by our Energy & Chemicals (E&C) companies.

3                  Developments like this Singapore Lube Park will also enable our companies to serve the region more effectively. This park is the first-of-its kind in Asia with shared facilities including an import-export jetty, common pipelines, and shared tank infrastructure to support the manufacturing plants of Shell, Sinopec, and Total. It is also an excellent demonstration of the collaborative effort between the companies and the Singapore Government to optimise resources. 

4                  The growing lubricants segment will also strengthen the synergies in our integrated E&C industry. For instance, our refineries produce the base oil that goes into the production of lubricants. The lubricant additive manufacturers then improve the performance of the lubricants. Finally, our lubricant blending plants blend the intermediates to produce the high value finished lubricant products.

5                  Shell’s investment in this new plant is a clear demonstration of the organisation’s continued confidence in Singapore as a location for high value-added E&C manufacturing. It is also a recognition of the growth opportunities that can be seized from Singapore.

The Energy & Chemicals industry remains a key pillar of our manufacturing sector

6                  In line with the recommendations of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE), we are committed to building a globally competitive manufacturing sector, contributing about 20% of our GDP over the medium term. The E&C industry remains an important pillar of our manufacturing sector. Last month, we launched the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) for E&C. The ITM encompasses key strategies in innovation and productivity, as well as jobs and skills development. Through the efforts of the ITM, we aim for our E&C industry to achieve a manufacturing value-added of S$12.7 billion and create 1,400 new jobs by 2025.

7                  A key thrust of the E&C ITM is to drive adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies, such as automation, robotics and industrial internet-of-things, among our manufacturers. In this regard, I am pleased to learn that Shell’s new plant has adopted state-of-the-art production technologies with high levels of automation.  For instance, the plant uses a fully automated drum filling line, which can produce up to 100 drums per hour with 1 worker. This represents a six-fold increase in productivity compared to Shell’s previous facility at Woodlands North. We encourage more companies to take advantage of advanced manufacturing technologies to raise their productivity and strengthen their competitiveness.

The Singapore Government will continue to partner the industry to invest in our people

8                  Ultimately, our goal for the E&C ITM is to create good jobs for our people. As part of the ITM, we have worked closely with the industry stakeholders and unions to develop and launch the Skills Framework for the E&C industry. This framework provides valuable information about the career pathways, occupations and job roles, as well as existing and emerging skillsets required for this industry. Students wanting to join the E&C industry can also tap on our SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes (ELP), a work-learn programme, for job roles such as process technicians and laboratory analysts. Mid-career workers interested to enter this industry can take advantage of Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) to be reskilled and placed into suitable job roles.

9                  We will continue to partner the industry to invest in our people, and equip them for the new job opportunities. On this note, I would like to commend Shell as one of our Human Capital Partners, for their continued commitment to invest in our people.

10               Take Mr Azmi Bidin as an example.  Azmi first joined Shell in 1992, as a blending operator at the lubricant and grease manufacturing plant at Woodlands North.  In view of Azmi’s good performance, Shell provided him with opportunities to rotate across different functions within the lubricants business, ranging from jetty operations to blending supervision. Azmi benefited greatly from the exposure and experience. More recently, he took on the important task of planning and coordinating operations during the relocation of the facility at Woodlands North facility to the Singapore Lube Park.  Today, he is the production supervisor of this new plant and Shell’s main point of contact at the Singapore Lube Park.

Conclusion

11               Let me conclude on this note of partnership. Shell is our long standing partner, with over 120 years of history in Singapore. We thank you for your continued commitment and confidence in Singapore. I would like to congratulate the Shell team on the opening of this new plant, and I look forward to many more years of successful partnership ahead. Thank you.