SINGAPORE: The Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC), the first commercial underground rock cavern storage facility for liquid hydrocarbons in Southeast Asia, was officially opened on Tuesday (Sep 2). It will be a key support for Singapore's petrochemical industry.
Speaking at the opening, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says that with this experience, the Government is considering more subterranean projects. This includes building an underground science city, an underground warehousing and logistics facility, and potential underground caverns near CleanTech Park in Jurong.
He also said that the project shows Singapore's determination to build a petrochemical industry, despite land constraints and the potential impact of an impending United Nations agreement on carbon emissions, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
HOW THE JURONG CAVERNS WERE CONSTRUCTED
The S$950-million dollar Jurong Rock Caverns took six years of planning, and another eight years of construction. It will be used to store liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil and condensate.
The rock cavern was excavated using explosives, and it takes about one and a half to two years to excavate each rock cavern. The water pressure outside the cavern keeps the contents of the cavern in their place.
The caverns are the deepest known public works in Singapore to date - deeper than underpasses, the deep tunnel sewerage system, and four times deeper than Bras Brasah, the deepest station in the train network. Tunnels measuring 9km provide access to the caverns, and there are five of them, with a total capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres - a storage capacity equivalent to 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools..
Building this infrastructure underground was challenging, but worthwhile, said Mr Lee: "It costs more than doing it above ground, about 30 per cent more, in order to build the infrastructure to store oil and condensate underground, compared to reclaiming land, on a per unit of crude or condensate basis. This endeavour also involved immense challenges and significant risks. But we pursued it because it was worthwhile."
The caverns freed up 60 hectares of surface land for higher-value facilities, he noted, "and 60 hectares is enough to house up to six petrochemical plants. But more importantly, it opened up, for us, further possibilities for development, with the expertise and the confidence that we gained building these Caverns."
Mr Lee highlighted the importance of the petrochemical industry to Singapore: "We will develop the petrochemical industry, because the industry provides good jobs for Singaporeans, because it contributes significantly to our economy. In fact, the chemicals industry is one-third of our manufacturing output. And also, because we are determined to find all ways to make a living for ourselves in the world."
STILL BUILDING
Two of the caverns were completed this March and are already being used by Jurong Aromatics Corporation to store feedstock for its aromatics plant, which is currently being developed. The three remaining caverns are expected to be ready by end 2016.
Said Mr Loo Choon Yong, Chairman of JTC Corporation: "We also had to consider the commercial viability of the project. We worked with various stakeholders at the onset, to ensure that the JRC would match manufacturers' requirements so that we could market it successfully."
JTC says an extension, or a second phase, could be developed if there is industry demand. JTC also says that the 3.5 million cubic metres of rock excavated for this project will be used in land reclamation, and for paving roads.
- CNA/xk/xy
PM Lee opens S$950 million Jurong Rock Caverns
LEE YEN NEE Today Online 2 Sep 14;
SINGAPORE — South-east Asia’s first commercial underground liquid hydrocarbon storage facility was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today (Sept 2).
Located 150m beneath Jurong Island, the Jurong Rock Caverns were conceptualised to overcome land constraints in Singapore. This follows years of providing industrial land and space through reclaiming land and building high-rise infrastructure.
JTC Corporation, the developer of the S$950 million project, said the building of the five caverns translates to a saving of 60 hectares of land that can be used for higher value-added activities such as petrochemicals manufacturing. This underground facility also ensures security of the products in storage.
JTC chairman Loo Choon Yong said: “As a small city state, we are constantly pushing boundaries in our quest to overcome our scarce land resource. The Jurong Rock Caverns required us to venture into unfamiliar grounds and surmount engineering challenges never encountered before. Its success attests to our resolve to persevere and diligently deliver innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions for Singapore.”
Image: JTC Corporation
Construction of the five caverns started in 2007. Their combined capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres is equivalent to 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Two of them, completed in March, have been leased to Jurong Aromatics Corporation who will store condensate, a feedstock for its aromatics plant.
The remaining three caverns are scheduled for completion by end 2016.
Singapore digs deep to realise oil storage dream
Chia Yan Min The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 Sep 14;
SINGAPORE yesterday unveiled its latest engineering feat to overcome the constraints of land - an underground commercial storage facility for oil products.
The ambitious Jurong Rock Caverns took six years of planning and a further eight of construction at a cost of $950 million, with about 1,700 workers employed.
Declaring it officially open, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told a ceremony on Jurong Island that the endeavour was challenging, risky and expensive, but will ultimately prove rewarding.
Mr Lee noted that the Jurong Rock Caverns was "born out of this same spirit of innovation and determination" behind Jurong Island, another ambitious project that involved amalgamating seven southern islands.
He cited the benefits the caverns bring - they free up 60ha of land, or 70 football fields, above ground - but noted also that they demonstrate how Singapore can "create new space for (itself) both physically and metaphorically".
The facility also signals Singapore's determination to develop its petrochemical industry, which makes up about a third of the country's manufacturing output and provides "good jobs for Singaporeans", he added.
Mr Lee noted that Singapore has become a world-class petrochemical hub despite its land constraints and the fact that it produces no crude oil or feedstock.
The caverns, which are also a first in South-east Asia, sit 150m below the Jurong Island energy and chemicals hub - or four times further underground than Singapore's deepest MRT station. They are Singapore's deepest underground public works endeavour to date.
Adding to the complexity was the challenge of having to construct the caverns 130m beneath the seabed. Industrial landlord JTC also had to build 9km of tunnels.
The five nine-storey-high caverns will be used to store 1.47 million cubic metres of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil and condensate - equivalent to 600 Olympic- sized swimming pools. Liquid hydrocarbons are usually stored in large tanks above ground.
Two of the five caverns have already been leased to Jurong Aromatics Corporation to store feedstock for its upcoming aromatics plant on Jurong Island. The other three are expected to be operational by 2016.
Dr Loo Choon Yong, chairman of JTC, told the ceremony that the project planning process, which included numerous study missions abroad and extensive soil and rock investigations, was "rigorous and intense".
The project was riskier and more complex than above-ground facilities, he added.
It was also expensive: It costs about 30 per cent more to build storage infrastructure underground than to reclaim land, but the space above ground can be used for higher value-added activities such as petrochemical plants.
With Jurong Rock Caverns behind it, JTC is now exploring other subterranean projects, said Dr Loo, adding: "Land will always be scarce in Singapore, but with human creativity and ingenuity, we continue to find ways to do more with less."