S Korea’s GS Caltex targets PE plant start-up in May
South Korean refiner GS Caltex is targeting late May for trial runs and the start-up of its new Yosu-based 500,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant.
But it expects the plant, which uses Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Martech technology, to produce prime-quality HDPE only a few months later around July-August.
GS Caltex announced plans to invest in olefins and polyethylene projects in 2018 as part of a strategy to grow and diversify its downstream petrochemical business, which was earlier focused on aromatics.
It began constructing its first 700,000 t/yr mixed-feed cracker and the 500,000 t/yr HDPE plant in 2019, with completion targeted for this year. The cracker, which will be able to produce up to 700,000 t/yr of ethylene and 350,000 t/yr of propylene, is expected to start up later around mid-2021.
The targeted commissioning and start-up phase of the olefins cracker and HDPE plant is earlier than market expectations of the end of this year or early 2022.
GS Caltex is a major aromatics producer globally with capacity of up to 2.8mn t/yr, including 1.35mn t/yr of paraxylene and 930,000 t/yr of benzene. Its existing polymer production capacity includes 180,000 t/yr of polypropylene production.
GS Caltex operates an 800,000 b/d refinery in Yosu, the world’s fourth-largest oil refining facility. The firm’s downstream petrochemical expansion will involve further integration with its upstream refining business, which will see the new cracker receiving feedstock naphtha and LPG from the 800,000 b/d refinery.