Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Wednesday that it had started up its multibillion-dollar ethylene cracker in Singapore after three and a half years of construction, DPA reported.
The cracker has a capacity to produce 800,000 tons of ethylene per year as well as 450,000 tons of propylene and 230,000 tons of benzene, which are used to make petrochemical and plastics products.
Ethylene production began Monday at the cracker at the Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, the company said.
It said the cracker is its largest investment in Singapore and supports its strategy to maintain a leading position in the Asian petrochemicals market.
Shell, however, has not disclosed the price of the plant's construction, which began in October 2006, but according to industry estimates, it was 2 billion to 3 billion US dollars.