Major South Korean petrochemical firms and production
South Korea's government announced a plan on Wednesday for 10 of the country's petrochemical companies to restructure their operations, including large cuts to their naphtha-cracking capacity.
Below are South Korea's top petrochemical producers based on the Korea Chemical Industry Association (KCIA).
Overview. South Korean producers have suffered losses due to oversupply, particularly in China, the biggest petrochemical market, and sluggish demand.
The country can produce about 13 metric MMtpy and about 11 metric MMtpy of ethylene and propylene, respectively, making it the world's fourth-biggest petrochemical producer, according to the KCIA.
It was also the biggest importer of petrochemical feedstock naphtha in 2024 at 652,000 bpd, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.
MAJOR PRODUCERS AND PRODUCTION
LG CHEM—Yeosu-based LG Chem is the top producer of ethylene and propylene, which are key plastic feedstocks used in industries from automobile to construction, with designed capacities at 3.380 MMtpy and 1.980 MMtpy, respectively.
Its petrochemicals division recorded an operating loss of 90.4 B won ($65.29 MM) in the second quarter.
LOTTE CHEM—South Korea's second-largest producer, Lotte Chemical, has an annual capacity of 2.330 MMtpy of ethylene and 1.191 MMtpy of propylene. The company has subsidiaries in Malaysia and a project in Indonesia.
It sold a 25% stake in its Indonesian subsidiary, PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI), reducing ownership from 49% to 24%, and sold Lotte Chemical Pakistan earlier this year to strengthen its financial position and reduce debt. Lotte Chem reported an operating loss of 224.90 B won in the second quarter.
YNCC—Yeochun NCC, a joint venture between DL Chemical and Hanwha Solutions, is the third-largest producer with a capacity of 2.285 MMtpy of ethylene and 1.289 MMtpy of propylene. DL Chemical will issue a loan of 150 B won to YNCC to help pay debts due this month. YNCC reported an operating loss of 150 B won in 2024, versus 239 B won in losses a year earlier.
HANWHA TOTALENERGIES—Hanwha has a joint venture with TotalEnergies, called Hanwha TotalEnergies, which can produce 1.525 MMtpy of ethylene and 1.064 MMtpy of propylene.
It swung to an operating loss of 118 B won in the first quarter from a profit of 51 B won in the previous-year period.
HD HYUNDAI CHEMICAL—HD Hyundai Chemical can produce 850,000 tpy of ethylene and 451,000 tpy of propylene. It is either looking to acquire Lotte Chemical's cracker, or the two companies may merge their cracker operations at the Daesan complex, trade sources have said. HD Hyundai said no decision had been reached. It reported an operating loss of 170 B won for the second quarter versus a profit of 560 MM won a year ago.
KPIC—Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co. (KPIC) can produce 900,000 tpy of ethylene and 560,000 tpy of propylene at Ulsan. KPIC swung to an operating loss of 4.5 B won in the second quarter, after reporting a profit of 53 MM won a year earlier.
GS CALTEX—South Korea's No. 2 refiner GS Caltex can produce 900,000 tpy of ethylene and 970,000 tpy of propylene at its Yeosu complex. Its petrochemical business recorded an operating loss of 53 B won in the first quarter, widening from a loss of 1 B won in the prior-year period.
SK GEOCENTRIC—SK Geo Centric, a subsidiary of SK Innovation which owns the country's top refiner SK Energy, can produce 660,000 tpy of ethylene and 380,000 tpy of propylene. The SK Group has halted SK Geocentric's plan to build a plastic recycling complex in Ulsan, per local media reports.
S-OIL—South Korea's third-largest refiner S-Oil can produce 182,000 tpy of ethylene and 840,000 tpy of propylene at Ulsan. Adding to oversupply worries, S-Oil is developing a 1.8-MMtpy ethylene plant with its majority owner Saudi Aramco. The Shaheen project, Aramco's largest investment in South Korea, is on track for completion in 2026, Aramco said in its second-quarter earnings announcement.
S-Oil reported an operating loss of 344 B won in the second quarter versus 161 B won in profit a year earlier.
($1 = 1,384.5000 won)
Comments