MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Daesan integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in South Korea, owned by Hanwha Total Petrochemical, has started its new ethylene production capacities, said the company.
With a USD450 million investment, the site can now produce 1.4 million tons per year of ethylene, an increase of 30%.
This project was launched in April 2017 and is the first in a series of three at the complex. More than USD300 million are being invested to expand polyethylene production capacity by 50% to 1.1 million tons per year by the end of 2019, and nearly USD500 million are being invested to increase polypropylene production capacity by close to 60% to 1.1 million tons per year by 2021.
The three projects take advantage of abundant, cost-advantaged propane feedstock from the shale gas revolution in the United States. With these investments, the Daesan facility will be in a position to capture margins across the ethylene-polyethylene and propylene-polypropylene value chains. The additional production capacity will help meet rapidly growing Asian demand.
These investments and today’s successful start-up of the first project reflect our strategy of meeting growing global demand for petrochemicals by channeling our investments into our world-class complexes and leveraging cost-advantaged feedstock” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, Total.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
Hanwha Total Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Hanwha General Chemicals and Total S.Aю Both companies own a 50% partnership in the venture. Founded in 2003 as a joint venture between Samsung General Chemicals and Total (as Samsung Atofina; changed name to Samsung Total in 2004), it was sold to Hanwha in 2015.The company manufactures building block chemicals that go into the making of a host of other chemicals needed to make various consumer products. It starts with a naphtha cracker, yielding propylene and ethylene, which are the raw materials in the production of all manner of polymers. Hanwha Total divides its operations in three: polymer production (polyethylene, polypropylene, high- and low-density polyethylene), base chemicals (selling the ethylene and propylene the company doesn't use itself, as well as aromatics used to make the materials that go into synthetic fibers), and oil products
MRC