(Plastemart) -- S-Oil Corp's expanded plant for paraxylene and benzene is now in full operation, at the No. 2 Aromatic Complex in Ulsan. The expansion has more than double S-Oil's annual petrochemical production capacity to 1.6 mln tons of paraxylene and 300 KT of benzene. The two-year expansion project, completed in March, cost the refiner USD 1.2 bln).
⌠The plant is our new growth engine and future driving force that will help us diversify our business areas and establish a solid presence in the areas, as per S-Oil chief executive Ahmed A. Subey. We'll be able to gain a firm foothold in the petrochemical market as well as in the oil refining and lubricant oil markets where we've already secured global competitiveness.
Exporting around 60 percent of total output, S-Oil has been boosting its petrochemical business as a new revenue source over the last few years. S-Oil expects the new facilities to jack up exports by about USD 3.2 bln and sales by about 3.5 trillion won each year, respectively.