S. Korea President Joins Saudi Aramco CEO for Petchem Plant’s Groundbreaking

Building work on Saudi Aramco’s new US$7 billion Shaheen petrochemical project in Ulsa, South Korea has officially begun after a groundbreaking ceremony involving the energy giant’s CEO. Amin Nasser attended the inauguration event alongside South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol and senior officials from both countries. The Shaheen project, announced in November 2022, is being built by South Korean refiner S-OIL Corp., of which Aramco owns a more than 63% stake.

“We are deeply honored by the presence of His Excellency President Yoon at this historic groundbreaking ceremony,” said Nasser – also the Aramco President. “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,” he continued.

Shaheen is Saudi Aramco’s largest investment in South Korea and is expected to be among the biggest integrated steam crackers – a petrochemical process – in the world. It is also the first large-scale commercial use of Aramco's thermal crude-to-chemicals technology, which was developed in partnership with Lummus Technology, a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals.

The construction of the new plant will be completed by 2026 and will have a production capacity of up to 3.2 million tons per year, in addition to a facility for producing high-value polymers. Aramco has established a solid relationship with South Korea, and has recently agreed to a US$6 billion framework deal with the country’s export-import bank.

According to the deal, Eximbank can lend Saudi Aramco up to US$6 billion, which can be used to fund South Korean enterprises involved in projects with the global energy firm, whereas the bank indicated that US$1 billion is set aside for hydrogen and renewable energy projects. Moreover, Aramco also inked a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's Hoban Group last month to collaborate in building and manufacturing.