Lotte Chemical to expand ethylene output capacity

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) — Lotte Chemical Co., a major chemicals firm here, said Monday that it plans to increase ethylene output capacity in South Korea to meet growing demand.

Lotte Chemical plans to jack up the annual output capacity of its plant in Yeosu by 200,000 tons to 1.2 million tons by the end of 2018.

The company said it would spend a total of 300 billion won (US$257 million) on the facility expansion.

When the output expansion is completed, Lotte Chemical’s annual ethylene output in South Korea will rise to 2.3 million tons.

Lotte Chemical also operates plants in Malaysia, the U.S. and other countries.

When its overseas output of ethylene is counted, the company will have an annual production capacity of 4.5 million tons by 2018, becoming the No. 1 ethylene producer in the country, it said.