Bohan Loh of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Tuesday (17 March) published an update on manpower and logistics concerns faced by petrochemical and energy companies in Singapore as Malaysia goes on COVID-19 lockdown:
Singapore refining and petrochemical companies are scrambling to secure accommodation for their Malaysia-based workers after Malaysia banned its citizens from leaving the country over 18-31 March in a bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Refining and petrochemical companies are reliant on workers that make daily border crossings between Malaysia and Singapore. Around 300,000 people cross the Singapore-Malaysia border daily but there are no estimates how many of these work in the refining and petrochemical industry.
ExxonMobil has close to 600,000 b/d of refining capacity in Singapore, Shell 500,000 b/d at its Pulau Bukom complex and Singapore Refinery jointly owned by Chevron and Chinese state-controlled oil firm PetroChina’s Singapore Petroleum has 290,000 b/d.
ExxonMobil has asked its affected staff to return home to Malaysia to gather supplies and necessities for two weeks and to return to Singapore before midnight (16:00 GMT) today when the travel restrictions begin. The company will be arranging for accommodation requirements for its affected workers until the end of the month.
Fellow petrochemical producer PCS also has similar arrangements for its affected workers.
Singapore is home to ExxonMobil’s largest integrated manufacturing complex. The Singapore Refinery site on the mainland has more than 1,200 employees, while the Singapore Chemical Plant on Jurong island has a workforce in excess of 1,300.
The impact on Mitsui Chemicals operations in Jurong island are expected to be limited as most of its workers are based in Singapore. Mitsui Chemicals operates a variety of downstream petrochemical plants including polymers, phenol, acetone and elastomers.
Shell Chemicals at Bukom also has Malaysia-based contractors working in the refinery and petrochemical complex but the impact on operations are expected to be limited as there is accommodation on the island.
The Singapore government also said that it would be working with companies with immediate requirements to find accommodation for its workers following the travel restrictions announced by Malaysia.
Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 18 March, 2020
IBIA Asia, ABIS, sources from Singapore’s bunkering and surveying companies, and an industry veteran share with Manifold Times the issues expected from MPA’s latest Covid-19 measures.
The top three positive movers in the 2020 bunker supplier list are Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd (+13); Chevron Singapore Pte Ltd (+12); and SK Energy International (+8), according to MPA list.
‘We will operate in the Singapore bunkering market from the Tokyo, with support from local staff at Sumitomo Corporation Singapore,’ source tells Manifold Times.
Changes include abolishing advance declaration of bunkers as dangerous cargo, reducing pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, and a ‘whitelist’ system for bunker tankers.
Claim relates to deliveries of MGO to the vessels Pacific Diligence, Pacific Valkyrie, Pacific Defiance, Crest Alpha 1, and Pacific Warlock between March 2020 to April 2020.
3,490 mt of LSFO from Itochu Enex was lifted at Universal Terminal; the same bunker stem was bought by Global Marine Logistics and delivered by bunker tanker Juma to receiving vessel Kirana Nawa.