Singapore expansion insider — Sammi Ng

ExxonMobil’s expansion of its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore will convert fuel oil and other bottom-of-the-barrel crude products into higher-value lubricant base stocks and distillates.

Numerous men and women are working hard to make this expansion effort a success. Learn from one of our own, regional market development advisor Sammi Ng, as she shares her perspective on the latest expansion effort.

Q: What are your primary responsibilities for this latest Singapore expansion project?
As a market development advisor in the Asia-Pacific region, I keep a close eye on the regional base stocks market and stay tuned in to customer and sales insights to help understand potential implications for our base stocks offer.

Using these learnings, I work alongside others in a global, cross-functional team that includes sales, supply chain and technical to develop a strategic go-to-market plan outlining how ExxonMobil can best meet our existing and prospective customers’ base stocks needs in the region.

Q: Can you expand on how the Asia-Pacific go-to-market plan ensures regional base stock demand will be met?
My 20-plus year career at ExxonMobil taught me early on that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” One essential component to strategic market development is scenario planning. While unexpected scenarios are bound to occur, we prepare as much as we can for a variety of business and market demand situations.

To best plan ahead, I take a comprehensive look at macroeconomic trends such as new policies in Asia-Pacific and analyze how they may influence base stock industry standards and affect customers’ businesses. These customer insights, combined with careful reviews of industry reports and knowledge of the market, ensure that our products and services appropriately reflect the ever-changing needs of the region.

Q: How is the ExxonMobil team working with customers now to prepare for startup of its expanded capacity?
Our customers and partners play an integral role as we continuously work to enhance our base stock offer. In this ever-evolving industry, it’s important to regularly connect with our customers to understand their changing formulation needs as well as their supplier expectations. These proactive conversations help my team anticipate what customers want and how we, as a supplier, can help support them.

We also work closely with partners such as additive companies and OEMs to identify formulation advantages tied directly to our engineered base stocks so customers have a holistic view of our product performance.

Q: What makes this latest expansion unique when compared to recently completed Singapore refinery expansion projects?
The scale of this latest expansion is much bigger than our recently completed projects, as we are expecting to bring an additional 1 million tonnes of high-quality base stocks on stream upon completion. This is comparable to constructing a completely new refinery.

In addition to new capacity, we are introducing two new base stocks products to our Asia-Pacific offer, namely EHC™ 120 — which is currently available in Europe and the Americas — and a new, global, high-viscosity Group II base stock that offers greater oxidative stability and superior low-temperature performance.

This expansion will further bolster our global supply network with an enhanced base stock offer, helping to meet our customers’ formulation needs in the Asia-Pacific region.

Keep up with the latest Singapore refinery expansion updates by visiting our dedicated webpage here.