S-OIL, a majority-owned company of Saudi Aramco, has started construction on the Shaheen petrochemical project in Ulsan, South Korea, which involves an investment of $7 billion.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the Shaheen petrochemical complex was held under the presence of South Korean President Yoon and Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser.

Amin H. Nasser — Saudi Aramco President and CEO said: “We are deeply honored by the presence of His Excellency President Yoon at this historic groundbreaking ceremony. Shaheen is among Aramco’s biggest international downstream investments, representing a significant and sizeable step forward in our liquids-to-chemicals expansion and another major milestone in further strengthening our presence in Korea.”

In November 2022, Saudi Aramco announced that its affiliate is constructing the Shaheen petrochemical cracker, which is expected to be a key component of the Saudi Arabian energy company’s regional strategy for the conversion of crude to chemicals.

It is anticipated that the Shaheen project will be completed by 2026 for which it could involve up to 17,000 people during peak construction.

The Shaheen petrochemical project will transform crude oil into 3.2 million tons per annum of fuel for petrochemicals.

The petrochemical project in Ulsan is also the biggest investment made in South Korea by Saudi Aramco apart from becoming the most integrated steam cracker around the world.

In addition, the South Korean petrochemical project is the first commercially significant deployment that will use the thermal crude-to-chemicals (TC2C) technology that was developed by Saudi Aramco in collaboration with Lummus Technology.

The Shaheen petrochemical complex will include a steam cracker with the capacity to produce 1,800 kilotons annually (KTA) of ethylene.

Other features of the petrochemical facility include the TC2C facility to convert crude oil directly into petrochemical feedstocks such as LPG and Naphtha as well as a polymer plant that will yield high-value petroleum feedstock for plastics, along with other synthetic resins and additional facilities like storage tanks.

It will supply monomer-based products through a pipeline nearby downstream processing companies for olefins.

After the completion of the Shaheen petrochemical project, S-OIL will increase its production of petrochemicals by more than two times to make up 25% of its current 12% of the company’s total production.

  Amin H. Nasser, Amin Nasser, Ethylene, Lummus Technology, S-OIL, Saudi Aramco, Shaheen petrochemical cracker, South Korea