Singapore’s Aster Chemicals and Energy expects to complete several projects in the second half of this year to raise its refining capacity and import oil on supertankers to lower costs, its chief financial officer said.
The company, a joint venture between Indonesia’s Chandra Asri (TPIA.JK), opens new tab and Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab, has announced a string of projects to boost its competitiveness since taking over the Bukom refinery and petrochemical assets in Singapore last April.
Aster’s 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) condensate splitter bought last year from Petrochemical Corp of Singapore will be operational in the second half of this year, CFO Andre Khor said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
The revamped plant will process 30% sour condensate, sourced from Glencore’s global network, he said, lifting Aster’s crude and condensate processing capacity to 307,000 barrels per day from 237,000 bpd.
Once the splitter is operating, Aster can ramp up Bukom’s cracker running rates and export the resulting additional ethylene to Chandra Asri’s petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Indonesia, he said.
