Is Singapore turning into a regional hub for foreign companies to open their companies here?

Intertek, the world's leading provider of testing and inspection services, has opened a new petroleum laboratory inside the Universal Terminal on Jurong Island. Universal Terminal is Asia's largest commercial oil storage facility and is co-owned by Singapore Oil Trading Firm, Hin Leong and PetroChina.

The new Intertek laboratory provides important quality testing and inspection services to customers of the large storage complex, complementing the extensive expertise and laboratory testing capabilities provided by the nearby Intertek Singapore Technical Centre laboratory.

Marc Hoffer, President for Intertek Oil, Chemical & Agri in Asia Pacific, said, "Singapore is a key petroleum hub for the region. Our new facility at Universal Terminal is a strategic investment for Intertek, increasing support available to key petroleum clients and supporting their business needs across the region."

Occupying 8,000 sq feet, the new Intertek Universal Laboratory provides comprehensive laboratory testing services to support Universal Terminal Tenant needs as well as Intertek regional customers. Intertek is the only third-party independent laboratory in the terminal. Intertek provides support services such as fuel quantity and quality inspection, petroleum testing, bunker fuel testing to ISO 8217, bunker fuel quantity surveying, In-line Automatic Sampling, along with fuel oil and gasoline blending. Additional services include fuel and logistical consultancy, marine services, and storage tank calibration.

The new laboratory operates on a 24/7 basis and operates with a new state-of-the-art information management system (LIMS). Singapore customers also benefit from Intertek's fast on-site sample-pick-up system, FastLab. It is expected that the new laboratory will be ISO 17025 accredited by 2008.

Will the opening of the new Intertek Petroleum Laboratory help improve further Singapore’s Petroleum research?