Shell MDS Strengthens Leading Position With Newly Expanded Solid Wax Plant

Officiating the event was YB Senator Dato’ Sri Idris Jala, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Chief Executive Officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU).  Also in attendance were Ate Visser, Vice President of the gas business for Shell Upstream International in Asia  and Managing Director of Shell MDS; Iain Lo the Chairman of Shell Malaysia and various other dignitaries including the Dutch Ambassador and British High Commissioner to Malaysia.

“The new solid wax plant enables the doubling of Shell MDS’ solid wax output and further strengthens our position as a leading producer of high quality GTL hard waxes and slab waxes,” said Visser at the event. “This project enables us to meet the rapidly growing demand of such unique waxes. It is an integral part towards achieving our vision to be the World Leader in GTL Specialties and helping to add value to Malaysia’s natural gas resources,” he continued.

Shell MDS’ solid waxes are branded Shell GTL Sarawax and are marketed in more than 50 countries around the world.

Shell MDS’ GTL plant is the first of its kind in the world, and uses natural gas from offshore Sarawak to produce waxes, drilling fluids, chemical feedstocks and fuels. The plant was the culmination of over 30 years of Shell research into the utilisation of alternative raw materials for the production of fuels and specialty chemicals.

Congratulating Shell Malaysia on the project’s completion, Dato’ Sri Idris said, “In January 2011, Shell Malaysia announced the solid wax plant expansion project as one of 3 entry point projects. I am delighted to see the realisation of the project and even more pleased to be part of this inauguration event. “

Iain Lo highlighted that the project demonstrated Shell’s ongoing confidence in the country where its history spans over 120 years, “Malaysia is one of Shell’s heartlands. Our continued investment reflects Shell Malaysia’s commitment to support the government’s Economic Transformation Programme to generate higher income, value-added economic activities and intensify human capital development in the country.”

The Bintulu gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant is a joint venture between Shell, Mitsubishi, PETRONAS and the Sarawak State Government.  Using proprietary Shell technology, the plant converts natural gas into synthetic GTL waxes, drilling fluids, chemicals feedstocks and fuels. These unique products are virtually free of sulphur and aromatics and are odourless. They find various industrial applications and are exported to more than 50 countries including the USA, Japan, Asia, Europe, Australasia, South America and Africa.

ENQUIRIES:

Norhayati Sulaiman-Adzhar, Media Relations 
N.Sulaiman@shell.com
Tel : +603 2091 3795

NOTE TO EDITOR :

The Shell MDS plant is the first of its kind in the world and is the culmination of over 30 years research into the utilisation of alternative raw materials for the production of fuels and specialty chemicals. This fits well with the Shell Group emphasis on sustainable development. The synthetic fuels and specialty chemicals produced by the Shell MDS plant are unrivalled in terms of purity and paraffinicity.

Shell MDS technology converts natural gas to long chain paraffins which are subsequently either hydrocracked to produce liquid fuels or fractionated to produce chemical feedstocks and waxes. The use of non-associated natural gas as feedstock and the high selectivity of the conversion process ensure a consistency of quality unmatched by equivalent products derived from crude oil.

Shell MDS process incorporates state-of-the-art safety, energy conservation and environmental protection systems. The plant itself is completely integrated such that the only incoming raw material is natural gas and the only outgoing waste products are water and flue gas, which are regulated by highly efficient waste water treatment and flare system respectively.

Shell MDS product quality is assured by a management system certified to ISO 9002 and by a control system accredited to Good Laboratory Practices. In addition, Shell MDS waxes are produced in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices as defined by the United States Food & Drugs Administration (FDA). Shell MDS waxes comply with the FDA regulations 21CFR175.105 and 21CFR175.250.