SEOUL, March 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s leading petrochemical companies are bracing for potential credit rating downgrades in the first half of 2025 as financial indicators continue to deteriorate due to a prolonged industry slump. The growing concerns come in the wake of Homeplus’ restructuring following a credit rating downgrade, raising alarms over broader [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s government unveiled a set of measures on December 23 to enhance the competitiveness of its petrochemical industry, which has been grappling with a structural downturn fueled by global oversupply. Industry leaders welcomed the initiative, emphasizing the urgency of swift action to prevent a deeper crisis. Support for [...]
SEOUL, March 29 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Gas, a key energy affiliate of energy and telecom conglomerate SK Group, said Sunday that it has reached a deal with Saudi’s Advanced Petrochemical Co. (APC) to set up a joint venture to build a US$1.8 billion plant in the kingdom. SK Gas Petrochemical, SK’s special purpose company, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A “Direct Conversion Technology of Non-oxidative Methane” owned only by the U.S. and China has been developed by Korean researchers. Analysts say it will change the landscape of the global petrochemical industry. A research team from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) said on Tuesday that it [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co., a major petrochemical producer in South Korea, said Tuesday it has completed an expansion of its ethylene and propylene production facilities. Hanwha Total said its Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC) Side Gas Cracker at its plant in South Chungcheong Province has started commercial operations. Hanwha Total [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Chemical Corp., a major chemical unit under Lotte Group, said Monday it will establish a petrochemical joint venture with GS Energy Co., an energy-specialized holding company of GS Group. Lotte Chemical and GS Energy signed an agreement to form a joint venture, tentatively named Lotte-GS Chemical Company, this [...]
ULSAN, Jun. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean petrochemical companies plan to invest 14.5 trillion won (US$12.2 billion) by 2023, the finance minister said Thursday, in an apparent move to boost their output capacity. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, also said the government is considering offering additional tax benefits to petrochemical companies [...]
DAEJEON, Apr. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean research team led by professor Song Hyun-joon from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed an electrocatalyst that turns more than 70 percent of carbon dioxide into ethylene without causing significant byproducts. Ethylene is one of the primary materials used in the petrochemical industry, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s trade ministry on Tuesday urged South Korean petrochemical companies to diversify their portfolios to cope with the anticipated slump in the industry and overcome protectionism. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the petrochemical industry is expected to experience a downturn after enjoying the previous three [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — GS-Caltex Corp., the second-largest refiner in South Korea, said Thursday that it will invest 2.6 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) to build an olefins plant in the southern part of the country. The mixed feed cracker in Yeosu will have an annual production capacity of 700,000 tons of ethylene and [...]