CHEW THIAM HUAT works at the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore, the upstream company of the $5 billion Singapore Petrochemical Complex on Jurong Island. They supply petrochemicals such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene to downstream companies that in turn produce petrochemical products for their customers. Over the past 25 years, Thiam Huat assumed a wide range of responsibilities such as plant maintenance, engineering, construction, IT, procurement as well as safety management.

Thiam Huat is one of those who enabled Singapore to enjoy a reputation as a world-class energy and chemical hub. The three major chemical industry sectors are petroleum, petrochemicals, and specialty chemicals. Singapore is a major oil refining, storage and distribution centre. It is strategically located in the midst of a fast growing oil and gas producing region. In 2009, Singapore's energy and chemical industry contributed $57 billion to the manufacturing output. That is 28 per cent of the total output. Now, Jurong Island is among the world's top 10 petrochemical hubs. It is here that companies convert raw materials such as oil, natural gas, metals, and minerals into products. They include big names such as 3M, Sumitomo Chemical, Shell and ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil took in three NTI pioneers in 1985. “I did various functions from engineering to operations and marketing and sales,” said Alan Lim Kok Seng who was with ExxonMobil for 23 years. “Such wide exposure was invaluable to my career.” After the stint with the company, Tan Aik Kuai, a Malaysian, went home to work for Nylex Berhad, a public listed company in Malaysia. For Tan Gek Noi, she left after two years to do a MBA before joining Hewlett Packard.

Vaidyanathan Srikrishnan's experience in the chemical industry was memorable. After graduation, he returned to his industrial attachment company Esso to work in the refinery engineering department. He supervised project contractors. Later, he did a four-year assignment in Guam, an exotic island with gorgeous natural scenery in the Pacific Ocean. He lived through terrifying earthquakes and typhoons. “Imagine coconuts flying through the air like bullets or the stoppage of water and electricity for up to a month after a typhoon,” he said.