<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published January 13, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Neste's hiring spree indicates all's well
Finnish firm's $1.2b Jurong Island plant remains on track
By RONNIE LIM
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(SINGAPORE) Finland's Neste Oil over the weekend started recruiting key managers for its $1.2 billion biodiesel plant on Jurong Island, clearly signalling that the project - the largest of its kind in the world - is on track, despite the global economic slowdown.
The plant, which will produce 800,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually, mainly from palm oil, is looking for managers to take charge of operations, logistics and its laboratory, as well as key engineers.
They are among the first wave to be recruited as the Finnish oil refining company earlier indicated that it will employ a total of about 100 personnel at its high-tech Singapore plant, construction of which is scheduled to be completed this year-end.
The move reinforces recent remarks by Julian Ho, Economic Development Board's executive director of energy, chemicals and engineering services, that Neste's project is still on schedule, even as the economic crisis takes its toll on some other planned refining/petrochemical investments here.
Two factors favour the second-generation renewable biofuel Neste project.
One is the recent slide in regional palm oil prices - back to two-year ago levels - which has led even first-generation biodiesel projects here, such as Australia's Natural Fuel, to finally start up production this quarter at its US$130 million Jurong Island facility, earlier completed at end-2007.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Last November, a senior Neste official also indicated that Europe - a market which the Singapore plant will mainly export to - also needs more supplies of the sulphur-free diesel, especially given its environmental concerns.
There is growing diesel demand there, with two-thirds of European cars expected to be diesel-fuelled by 2030, Jarmo Honkama, Neste's deputy CEO said, adding that that is the reason Neste is building its Singapore plant, which is starting up early-2011, and also a sister plant (of identical capacity) starting up in Rotterdam in late-2011.
The company is also considering building a second line at both the Singapore and Rotterdam plants, he said at that time, although the timing for these may possibly be tempered by the current global slowdown.
The start-up of Neste Oil's plant here is also creating spin-offs for other companies here.
Generating company Tuas Power will provide a package of utilities - including power and steam - to Neste's plant, just next door, under a 30-year contract worth over $1 billion.
The deal, said to be worth 'tens of millions of dollars annually' to YTL-owned Tuas Power, will see the genco itself invest $100 million to modify some facilities and add a new dedicated jetty and pipelines to serve Neste.
Singapore gas firm Soxal, owned by Paris-listed Air Liquide, is also building a $250 million steam methane reformer - its largest single investment here - in order to produce hydrogen needed by Neste.
Soxal will also build and run a $40-50 million carbon dioxide purification and liquefaction unit at Neste's Jurong Island site. This will capture waste products such as carbon from Neste's biofuel process, which can then be sold to others such as dry-ice producers and medical firms.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Neste's hiring spree indicates all's well
Finnish firm's $1.2b Jurong Island plant remains on track
By RONNIE LIM
<TABLE class=storyLinks cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(SINGAPORE) Finland's Neste Oil over the weekend started recruiting key managers for its $1.2 billion biodiesel plant on Jurong Island, clearly signalling that the project - the largest of its kind in the world - is on track, despite the global economic slowdown.
The plant, which will produce 800,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually, mainly from palm oil, is looking for managers to take charge of operations, logistics and its laboratory, as well as key engineers.
They are among the first wave to be recruited as the Finnish oil refining company earlier indicated that it will employ a total of about 100 personnel at its high-tech Singapore plant, construction of which is scheduled to be completed this year-end.
The move reinforces recent remarks by Julian Ho, Economic Development Board's executive director of energy, chemicals and engineering services, that Neste's project is still on schedule, even as the economic crisis takes its toll on some other planned refining/petrochemical investments here.
Two factors favour the second-generation renewable biofuel Neste project.
One is the recent slide in regional palm oil prices - back to two-year ago levels - which has led even first-generation biodiesel projects here, such as Australia's Natural Fuel, to finally start up production this quarter at its US$130 million Jurong Island facility, earlier completed at end-2007.
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There is growing diesel demand there, with two-thirds of European cars expected to be diesel-fuelled by 2030, Jarmo Honkama, Neste's deputy CEO said, adding that that is the reason Neste is building its Singapore plant, which is starting up early-2011, and also a sister plant (of identical capacity) starting up in Rotterdam in late-2011.
The company is also considering building a second line at both the Singapore and Rotterdam plants, he said at that time, although the timing for these may possibly be tempered by the current global slowdown.
The start-up of Neste Oil's plant here is also creating spin-offs for other companies here.
Generating company Tuas Power will provide a package of utilities - including power and steam - to Neste's plant, just next door, under a 30-year contract worth over $1 billion.
The deal, said to be worth 'tens of millions of dollars annually' to YTL-owned Tuas Power, will see the genco itself invest $100 million to modify some facilities and add a new dedicated jetty and pipelines to serve Neste.
Singapore gas firm Soxal, owned by Paris-listed Air Liquide, is also building a $250 million steam methane reformer - its largest single investment here - in order to produce hydrogen needed by Neste.
Soxal will also build and run a $40-50 million carbon dioxide purification and liquefaction unit at Neste's Jurong Island site. This will capture waste products such as carbon from Neste's biofuel process, which can then be sold to others such as dry-ice producers and medical firms.
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