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State oil giant Saudi Aramco, through its affiliate S-Oil, broke ground on Thursday for the $7 billion Shaheen petrochemical project, the Gulf company’s biggest investment in Korea.
The petrochemical steam cracker, located in S-Oil’s existing site in South Korea’s industrial city of Ulsan, is one of the biggest international downstream investments of Saudi Aramco.
It aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock, with an annual production capacity of up to 3.2 million tonnes. The project is scheduled for completion by 2026.
Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser was at the project site on Thursday for the ground-breaking ceremony, which was also attended by South Korean President Yoon.
“Shaheen is among Aramco’s biggest international downstream investments, representing a significant and sizeable step forward in our liquids-to-chemicals expansion and another major milestone in further strengthening our presence in Korea,” Nasser said.
Aramco announced the project in November last year. The steam cracker will process crude by-products, including naptha and off-gas, to produce ethylene, which is used in the manufacture of everyday items.
The Shaheen complex is also expected to produce other basic chemicals, including propylene and butadiene.
Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream Mohammed Al Qahtani said in November that the Shaheen project aspires to be a gamechanger not only for S-Oil in South Korea, but also for Aramco’s global chemicals business.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
