◆ What is the Shaheen Project?

The Shaheen Project is a large-scale petrochemical initiative currently being pursued by S-Oil Corp., one of South Korea's leading oil refiners. The project involves the construction of extensive petrochemical production facilities, including a steam cracker (basic feedstock production unit) and polymer plants for high value-added products, within the Onsan National Industrial Complex in Ulsan. "Shaheen" means "falcon" in Arabic.


Construction began in 2023, with completion targeted for the first half of 2026. The total investment is estimated at 9.258 trillion won ($7.1 billion).


Through this project, S-Oil will introduce the world's first "TC2C (Thermal Crude to Chemicals)" process, which converts crude oil directly into petrochemical feedstocks without refining. This method can increase yield by up to four times compared to conventional processes.


Once the Shaheen Project is fully operational, S-Oil's annual ethylene production is expected to reach 1.8 million tons—approximately ten times its current output of 180,000 tons. The share of petrochemicals in S-Oil's business portfolio will also more than double, rising from 12% to 25%.


However, some criticism has emerged, as the government and the petrochemical industry agreed in August to voluntarily reduce ethylene output by 2.7 million to 3.7 million tons—equivalent to 18–25% of total naphtha cracking center (NCC) capacity—to address global oversupply. Some observers question whether the Shaheen Project runs counter to these efforts.


(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Pil Joong Jeong

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