Singapore's oil refining industry started when the Shell Refining Company (Singapore) Limited opened the island’s first oil refinery at Pulau Bukom on 26 July 1961.[1] The refinery earned Shell the “Pioneer Certificate No. 1”, which was awarded by the Singapore government.[2]
Shell’s long history with Singapore can be traced back to 1891. At the time, the offshore island of Pulau Bukom was used to store kerosene for M. Samuel & Co. of London, which was importing kerosene in bulk from Russia for distribution in Asia. Enlisting the help of local agency house Syme & Co., Samuel set up and ran a petroleum tank depot – the first of its kind in the East – on Pulau Bukom. In 1897, the company expanded into Borneo under a new company, the Shell Transport and Trading Co., and included the Bukom depot in this enterprise.[3] In 1907, Shell merged with its Dutch competitor, the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, to form Royal Dutch Shell, which went on to become a petroleum giant in the Far East during the inter-war years.[4] Shell's Far Eastern tankers, which were used to load oil from oil centres in Singapore, British Borneo and Indonesia, were administered through Shell in Singapore, which also controlled the reception, storage, blending and reshipment of oil from Pulau Bukom. A local fleet of tankers was also based in and operated from Singapore to cover oil supplies for Malaya, British Borneo, Indonesia, Thailand and Indo-China.[5]
In November 1959, Shell announced plans to start a refinery in the Federation of Malaya.[6] Singapore was eventually chosen as the site for the new refinery as the island was then already the biggest oil storage, blending, packing and bunkering base in Southeast Asia, and among the largest in the world.[7] In addition, Singapore offered generous tax incentives to attract new enterprises and encourage existing ones to expand in Singapore.[8] The $30-million refinery located in Bukom was officially opened by then Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee on 26 July 1961.[9] Shell strengthened its presence in Pulau Bukom when it built a $20-million comprehensive residential complex at Timor Pulau Bukom.[10] Shell drew most of its labour from the menfolk who were living on nearby Pulau Seking before the redevelopment of the island.[11]
The Bukom refinery is currently Shell’s largest refinery globally in terms of crude distillation capacity, producing 500,000 barrels per day.[12] A major fire, which broke out at the refinery on 28 September 2011, resulted in Shell shutting down its entire refinery. The refinery restarted partial operations in October and returned to full production by December.[13]
References
1. Another new industry comes to Singapore. (1961, July 26). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG
2. Page 20 Advertisements Column 2 (2000, November 3). The Straits Times, p. 20; Page 6 Advertisements Column 1. (1961, July 26). The Straits Times, p. 6; Shell-ing out the history. (1983, October 14). Singapore Monitor - Afternoon Edition, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Huff, W. G. (1994). The economic growth of Singapore: Trade and development in the twentieth century (p. 239). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Call no.: RSING 338.959570094 HUF.
4. Huff, 1994, p. 239; Radius, W. A. (1938, September 7). The play of petroleum forces in the Far East. Far Eastern Survey, 7(18), 205–211. Retrieved from JSTOR.
5. Oil afloat. (1956, January). The Malayan Shell, 5–8. Call no.: RCLOS 052 MAL.
6. $60m. Shell oil plan. (1959, November 25). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Huff, 1994, pp. 278–279.
8. Huff, 1994, p. 290.
9. Refinery opens: Proud day for S’pore–and Sarmanis. (1961, July 27). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
10. Shell Eastern Petroleum builds $20 million comprehensive residential complex at Timor Pulau Bukom. (1977, Jan–Feb). Construction Times, 2(1), 17, 21–26. Call no.: RSING 690.05 CT; Gamboa, E. (1982, April 18). It pays to look after your workers. The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
11. Selamat Omar. (1980, February). Penghulu tunggal. Mekar: Majalah untuk ibu-bapa, guru-guru dan yang berminat, 19–25. Call no.: RSING 370.5 M.
12. Shell. (n.d.). Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site. Retrieved September 16, 2013, from Shell Singapore website: http://www.shell.com.sg/aboutshell/shell-businesses/pulau-bukom-manufacturing/about-bukom.html
13. Cai, H. (2011, October 21). Parliament; Shell Bukom fire had ‘minimal impact’. The Straits Times; Full production at Bukom by year-end. (2011, December 29). The Business Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
The information in this article is valid as at 2013 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.