Total to expand Korean petchem complex
27 Jan 2012
Paris – Total is to expand and upgrade the Daesan petrochemicals complex in South Korea, which it owns with Samsung as part of the Samsung Total Petrochemicals 50/50 joint venture.
Costed at around $1.8 billion, the project will involve the construction of a second aromatics1 unit and an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer unit at the Daesan petrochemical complex.
The new aromatics unit will have a production capacity of around 1 million metric tons of paraxylene and 420,000 metric tons of benzene per year and will be completed by September 2014.
Paraxylene is used to manufacture polyester, while benzene is used to produce petrochemical products such as styrene.
With the completion of the aromatics unit in 2014 and the upgrade of existing paraxylene capacity in 2012, total paraxylene production capacity will be increased to 1.76 million metric tons.
The new EVA unit will produce 240,000 metric tons per year of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers. This resin is used in products such as electrical cables, adhesives and solar panels.
“This investment project in partnership with Samsung is aligned with Total’s strategy of expanding in growth markets … especially China,” said Patrick Pouyanné, president of Total’s refining - chemicals business.
“We are pursuing our strategy of focusing our spending on our most efficient integrated platforms, such as the Daesan complex.”
The Daesan petrochemical complex manufactures four main products – polypropylene, polyethylene, styrene monomer and paraxylene. Around half of its output is exported, primarily to China.
