The company also operates a Group I base oil plant on Singapore’s main island, in the Jurong Industrial Estate, with capacity of 13,500 b/d.

First announced in 2019, the expansion was originally scheduled to be completed in 2023 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. ExxonMobil said the expanded capacity includes 6,000 b/d of a 33 centiStoke oil that it describes as Group II bright stock, making the facility the first large source of such a base oil. Bright stock traditionally has been produced only by Group I plants and bright stock supply shortages have developed as global base oil supply shifted from Group I to Group II and III the past couple decades.

In addition to the new heavy oil, marketed under the EHC 340 Max product name, the new production train makes EHC 50 and EHC 120, which have kinematic viscosity of 5 and 12 cSt, respectively at 100 degrees C.

The base oil expansion is part of a broader multi-billion dollar upgrade that will convert heavy residue from the refining process into higher value base stocks and low-sulfur fuels. The company undertook the project when IMO 2020 – part of the push to reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the shipping industry – reduced global demand for marine bunker fuel or residual fuel oil.

ExxonMobil officials have claimed that base oils from the new production train will be among the most cost-advantaged in the world. The company says it will market the EHC 340 Max around the world.

The company’s operations on Singapore’s main island and Jurong Island are managed as a fuels and chemicals refining complex. The Jurong Island facilities were originally located on Pulau Ayer Chawan, one of several islands that Singapore amalgamated in the 2000s to form Jurong Island. The Jurong Island plant completed an earlier 5,700-b/d expansion in 2019.