Jurong Island

Jurong Island is near Singapore.

It was once many small islands. People joined them together to make one big island.

Many big companies work there. They use oil to make things. They make fuel for planes and cars. They even make parts for TVs.

You might see many big pipes. Some pipes are red. Some pipes are green. They carry things to different places.

Large silver tanks sit on the land. There are even big rooms under the sea. These rooms store oil.

Not everyone can go there. You need a special pass to visit. It is a very busy place.

Jurong Island sits southwest of the main island of Singapore.

Long ago, it was not one big land. It was a group of small islands. People used land reclamation to join them together. This means they added more land to the sea. The project finished in 2009. It was done 20 years early! Now, the island is over 30 square kilometers in size.

Many big companies work on the island. They use oil to make many things. They make fuel for planes and cars. They even make parts for TVs and diapers.

You might see many huge pipes. Red pipes carry water for fires. Green pipes carry sea water to keep things cool. Silver pipes carry steam or other products.

Because the island is so important, it is a protected place. Only people with special passes can go there. You cannot take photos without permission. There are even large rooms under the sea. These are called Jurong Rock Caverns. They store oil and gas deep underground.

Jurong Island is a very important place located southwest of Singapore's main island.

It is not a natural island like most others. Instead, it was made by joining several smaller islands together. This was done through land reclamation, which means adding land to the sea. The project was finished in 2009, which was twenty years earlier than planned. Today, the island covers a total area of over 30 square kilometers. It serves as the main hub for energy and chemicals in Singapore.

Many big companies use the island to turn oil into useful things. Even though Singapore does not have its own crude oil, the island processes over 1.5 million barrels of it every day. They use refineries to make petrol, kerosene, and jet fuel. They also use cracker plants to break down substances like naphtha. These plants make special materials for printer inks, plastic mouldings, and even aircraft materials. Some companies even make parts for LCD TV panels and diapers.

Long ago, the area looked very different from the busy island it is today. In 1848, a surveyor named John Turnbull Thomson saw many Malay and Chinese villages there. Some of the nearby islands had small fishing villages with wooden houses on stilts. In the late 1960s, big oil companies began planning facilities on these islands. By the 1980s, Singapore needed more industrial land on its main island. To solve this, leaders decided to join the southern islands into one huge island. JTC Corporation was put in charge of this big project in 1991.

There are many interesting details about how the island works. A network of pipelines connects all the different companies together. You might see red pipes that carry water for firefighting. Green pipes carry sea water to help keep machines cool. Large silver pipes carry steam, while smaller silver ones carry products. The island also has the Pulau Seraya Power Station. This was Singapore's very first offshore power station.

Because the island is so important for the country, it is a protected place. Since 2001, only people with special security passes are allowed to enter. The Singapore Armed Forces and the Police Coast Guard help keep the area safe. You cannot take photos or videos on the island without permission. There is even a special place called the Jurong Rock Caverns under the seabed. These huge underground rooms store oil and gas. They were officially opened in 2014 to help hold more supplies.

Jurong Island is a massive industrial hub located southwest of Singapore's main island. It serves as the primary center for Singapore's energy and chemicals sectors. This island is not a single natural landmass. Instead, it was created through land reclamation. This process involves joining several smaller offshore islets together to create one large area.

Today, the island covers a total area of over 30 square kilometers. This makes it a vital part of Singapore's national infrastructure.

The transformation of the area began with a complex engineering project. In 1991, JTC Corporation was appointed as the agent for the Jurong Island project. They coordinated with government agencies to build necessary services and infrastructure. Physical land reclamation started in 1995. The project was a major success for the construction teams. Penta-Ocean Construction was the main contractor for the work. The reclamation was completed on 25 September 2009. This was nearly twenty years ahead of the original schedule.

Before it became an industrial powerhouse, the region had a very different character. In the early 19th century, entrepreneurs traded gambier in the area. A British surveyor named John Turnbull Thomson noted many Chinese and Malay villages there in 1848. Nearby islands like Pulau Ayer Chawan and Pulau Seraya hosted small fishing villages until the 1960s. Villagers lived in wooden stilt houses surrounded by palm trees. In the late 1960s, oil companies began planning facilities on these specific islands. By the 1980s, Singapore needed more industrial land because the mainland was becoming crowded.

Today, the island functions through a highly integrated system of chemical production. It is one of the top three oil refining centers in the world. Singapore has no domestic crude oil deposits. However, the island processes over 1.5 million barrels of oil every single day. Refineries turn this crude oil into petrol, kerosene, and jet fuel. Cracker plants are also used on the island. These plants break down molecules from substances like naphtha. This process creates additives for products like printer inks, semiconductors, and aircraft materials.

The island is filled with many different types of industrial clusters. These clusters include oil, gas, petrochemicals, and specialty chemicals. In 2005, the output for these chemicals totaled S$66.5 billion. This represented almost 32 percent of all production in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Many global companies operate here, such as ExxonMobil, Shell, and DuPont. These companies produce a huge variety of items. They make everything from automotive lubricants to polycarbonate resins for LCD TV panels. They even produce super-absorbent polymers used in diapers.

To keep everything running, the island uses a complex network of pipelines. These pipes allow different companies to share materials seamlessly. For example, one company can pipe chlorine directly to another to make polycarbonates. Different colors of pipes serve specific purposes. Red pipes carry water for firefighting. Green pipes carry sea water for cooling machines. Large silver pipes carry steam throughout the site. Small silver pipes are used to transport product lines.

The island also features the Pulau Seraya Power Station, which was Singapore's first offshore power station.

Security is extremely strict because the island is a Protected Place. This status was granted in October 2001 following the attacks in the United States. Only authorized staff and visitors with security passes can enter. The Singapore Armed Forces and the Police Coast Guard help protect the area. The Police Coast Guard conducts regular patrols to watch the surrounding waters. Visitors must also declare any photographic equipment. Taking unauthorized photos or videos can lead to arrest and the loss of entry permissions.

There are even massive storage facilities hidden beneath the sea. The Jurong Rock Caverns are located under the seabed of the Banyan Basin. Construction on these underground caverns began in 2007. They were designed to store crude oil, naphtha, and gas-oil. The first phase was completed in 2013 and officially opened in 2014. This phase provides a storage capacity of 1.47 million cubic meters. Engineers are currently exploring a second phase to add another 1.32 million cubic meters of space.