Shell to reduce capacity, cut jobs at Singapore refinery

Royal Dutch Shell will cut in half its crude processing capacity and jobs at its Singapore oil refinery as part of efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net-zero by 2050.

The refinery on Pulau Bukoml island can process 500,000 barrels per oil and is the company's largest wholly-owned refinery.

Shell is restructuring its operations by reducing its oil and gas business and expanding its renewable energy and power division.

According to Shell, Bukom will transition from a crude-oil, fuel-based product slate toward new low-carbon value chains. Consequently, it needs to modify its refinery configuration over the next three years.

Shell is studying products that would be viable following its transition, such as biofuels and bitumen, and use different raw materials or feedstocks, such as recycled chemicals.

The plant at Bukom produces 800,000 tons of ethylene a year.

The company will also cut 500 jobs from manpower of 1,300 at Bukom by the end of 2023.

In September, Shell announced globally cutting 9,000 jobs or over 10 percent of its workforce.

It is also reducing the number of oil refining and petrochemical sites from 14 to six, which includes Pulau Bukom, Louisiana, Texas, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.