Singapore Senior Minister welcomes Total new regional headquarters

Senior Minster and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean gave a speech at the inauguration of Total’s new regional headquarters at Frasers Tower on Monday (9 December) morning.

“Total and Singapore have enjoyed a strong partnership for 37 years. In 1982, the company established its presence in Singapore with its oil trading, sales and marketing operations for lubricant products,” he said.

“Since then, Total has steadily expanded its Singapore operations. Today, Singapore is Total’s strategic hub in the Asia Pacific, and is pivotal in driving business growth and innovation as well as talent development in Singapore and Asia Pacific.

“In 2015, I opened Total’s new lubricants blending plant at Singapore Lube Park in Tuas, which is also Total’s largest lubricants blending plant in the world. The plant doubled Total’s lubricant production in Singapore and boosted regional capacity by 30%.

“Today, we mark yet another milestone of Total’s partnership with Singapore – the opening of Total’s regional headquarters here at Frasers Tower. The new premises occupy six floors with more than 125,000 square feet – an increase of 65% from its old premises.

“Total now has more than 600 employees in Singapore, with 500 employees in this regional HQ and around 130 employees at the Tuas lubricant plant. This opening is a testament to Total’s significant growth in Singapore and its commitment to our partnership.”

Senior Minister Teo noted Singapore to be also one of the first movers in providing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to High Sulphur Fuel Oil for bunkering fuel for ships, to meet the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s regulation to reduce the global Sulphur limit for marine fuel from the current 3.5% to 0.5% from January 2020.

“To date, Singapore has supplied LNG to 170 vessels using tanker trucks. With our first LNG bunker vessel slated for arrival in the third quarter of 2020, we will be able to cater to large vessels that require LNG as a marine fuel,” he notes.

“I am glad that Total, the second largest LNG producer in the world, will be leveraging the Singapore regional headquarters to manage its LNG business in the region.

“Recent examples are Total’s partnership with Singapore’s Pavillion Energy to build up the LNG bunkering eco-system, and with the Adani Group to supply and market LNG in India.”

Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) in early December entered a LNG bunkering agreement with CMA CGM for the supply of approximately 270,000 metric tonnes (mt) per year of LNG bunker fuel for over 10 years. The arrangement includes a complementary bunkering solution in Singapore.

Related: Total and CMA CGM enter LNG bunker agreement for Marseille-Fos ops

Published: 9 December, 2019