Physical land reclamation began in 1995, and Jurong Island was officially opened on 14 October 2000 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Clusters of gigantic cylindrical tanks amid a maze of pipelines now dot the island; investment totalled S$31 billion in 2010.

[7] Resident companies produce a vast range of items, from petroleum products to polycarbonate resins used in CDs, DVDs and LCD TV panels, and super-absorbent polymers that go into diapers and sanitary napkins.

ExxonMobil, which has invested S$4 billion in a refinery and cracker plant, makes industrial and automotive lubricants including a product used in Formula One racing cars.

DuPont has invested S$1 billion, and manufactures Zytel nylon resin, a versatile engineering plastic used in automobile components, appliances, wire insulation, sporting gear and home furnishings.

Afton Chemical is constructing a new manufacturing facility, expected to become operational in January 2016, to produce petroleum additives for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets.

Powered by the cluster, Singapore is currently one of the world's top three oil refining centres despite not having a single drop of crude deposits.

Jurong Island's refineries process 1,300,000 barrels (210,000 m3) of crude oil per day,[citation needed] turning it into petrol, kerosene and jet fuel sold locally and abroad.

Cracker plants break down the molecules of other oil-and gas-related substances such as naphtha into additives that give unique characteristics to certain products, from printer inks to plastic mouldings, semiconductors and aircraft materials.

Apart from imported crude, natural gas from Indonesia's West Natuna field arrives at Jurong Island via a 640 km undersea pipeline.

[10] The Police Coast Guard also conducts regular patrols around the island to ensure no unauthorised vessels are allowed access within a restricted area of waters surrounding it.

Jurong Island has two fire stations, and an amenity centre known as Oasis@Sakra that houses a food court, a medical clinic and a free-of-charge multi-storey carpark.

[14] Located beneath the seabed of Banyan Basin, off Jurong Island, JRC was completed in phases beginning in 2013, and was officially opened on 2 September 2014.