Hanwha Total Petrochemical to upgrade Daesan plant

Hanwha Total Petrochemical will invest 530 billion won ($478.7 million) to expand its petrochemical complex in Daesan, South Chungcheong, the company said on Tuesday.

The investment will enable the joint venture between French energy multinational Total and Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group - in a 50:50 share ratio - to expand production of chemical products like ethylene and high-value added polypropylene.

Of the investment, 380 billion won will be used to add 400,000 tonnes of polypropylene production capacity to the Daesan facility, allowing it to produce a total of 1.12 million tonnes of the chemical used for electronic materials and packaging by the end of 2020.

The remaining 150 billion won will be used to add production of basic chemical materials including ethylene.

“All these investments are designed to take advantage of competitively priced propane feedstock, which is abundantly available due to the shale gas revolution in the United States,” Total said in statement. “With this new investment, Daesan will be in a position to capture margins across the propylene-polypropylene value chain, as it already does in the ethylene-polyethylene value chain.”

By Kim Jee-hee