Saudi oil giant Aramco announced today that the company is making its biggest-ever investment in South Korea to develop one of the world’s largest refinery-integrated petrochemical steam crackers through its S-OIL affiliate, in line with the company’s strategy to maximise the crude to chemicals value chain.
The $7 billion Shaheen project aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock and would represent the first commercialisation of Aramco and Lummus Technology’s TC2C thermal crude to chemicals technology, which increases chemical yield and reduces operating costs. The announcement follows an earlier $4 billion investment into the first phase of the petrochemical expansion completed in 2018.
According to a press release from Aramco, the new plant will be located at S-Oil’s existing site in Ulsan, with a planned capacity to produce up to 3.2 million tons of petrochemicals annually and include a facility to produce high-value polymers.
The project is expected to start in 2023 and be completed by 2026.
The steam cracker is expected to process by-products from crude processing, including naphtha and off-gas, to produce ethylene — a building block petrochemical used to make thousands of everyday items. The plant is also expected to produce propylene, butadiene and other basic chemicals.
Aramco President and CEO, Amin H. Nasser, said: “The global petrochemical landscape is rapidly evolving with demand growth anticipated to accelerate, driven in part by rising consumption from Asia’s emerging economies. That is why S-Oil’s Shaheen is well positioned to meet rising demand for the materials that will be required across the region’s key industries.”
Aramco is the majority shareholder of S-OIL, holding more than 63% of the company’s shares through its Aramco Overseas Company B.V. subsidiary.