Project Profile
Value: US$1.2 billion
Location: Ulju County, Ulsan, south-east South Korea
Production capacity: 1.7 MMtpa and benzene to 560,000 tpa
Crude refining capacity: 669,000 bpd (from 580,000 bpd)
Length: 700 km of pipeline
S-OIL onsan refinery is located in Ulsan, South Korea. The expanded onsan refinery will produce enough paraxylene (PX) — which is made from naphtha and is the raw material for polyester and other products — to clothe nearly half the world. The US$1.2 billion refinery project doubles S-Oil’s PX production capacity to 1.7 million tons per year and benzene to 560,000 tons per year. Its 90,000 barrel per day condensate fractionation unit boosts crude refining capacity from 580,000 bpd to 670,000 bpd. With its 30-story xylene tower and 700 kilometres of pipeline, it is considered the world’s largest single-train plant. Despite several delays caused by heavy rains, Fluor Corp who won the main EPC contract delivered in only 16 months to Korea Oil Corporation its first major grassroots refinery, the schedule promised at contract award. Fluor had to ship major pieces of equipment from the U.S. as well as recruit and train a large number of Korean nationals to complete the project. Fourteen experienced Fluor construction managers from the U.S. were assigned to the project and oversaw the activities of 1,200 Korean Nationals.
In 2001,Toyo Engineering Corporation (TEC, President Toshihiko Hirose) has been awarded a contract by S-Oil Corporation of South Korea (Head Office in Seoul, affiliate of Saudi Aramco [Saudi Arabian Oil Company]) for a refinery modernization project at onsan Refinery on the east coast of South Korea. The project involves the installation of new units such as a Vacuum Residue Hydrodesulfurization Unit (30,000 BPSD), a Hydrogen Unit (90 MMSCFD), and a Sulfur Recovery Unit (220 t/d), as well as the related Utility and Off-site facilities. TEC\'s scope of work includes basic and detailed design and procurement of equipment and materials, project management, and supervision of construction. The entire project is valued at about 30 billion Yen, and is scheduled to be completed in February 2003. TEC\'s Steam Reforming Process will be used for the Hydrogen Unit.
In 2007, S-OIL Corporation completed its “alkylation project” and began to produce alkylate, feedstock for clean gasoline. S-OIL had pursued the project to improve gasoline quality and enhance profitability. S-OIL invested a total of about US$150 billion for two years from Sep. 2007 to construct an alkylation plant on a 6,000m2 site at its onsan refinery. The alkylation plant is a facility that is capable of producing 9,200 barrels per day of alkylate. In January 2014,Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Saudi Aramco)bought a US$2 billion stake in S-Oil Corp. (010950).The state-owned producer, known as Saudi Aramco, will buy almost all of Hanjin Energy Co.’s stake in S-Oil.
Operators:
S-Oil Corp. Joint Venture: Operator with 100% interest
Saudi Aramco
Hanjin Energy Co.
Contractors:
Fluor Corp: Main EPC contract
Foster Wheeler: front-end engineering and design for the residue upgrading project, which will include the addition of a residue hydrodesulfurization unit, a residue fluid catalytic cracker, and multiple downstream upgrading units to enable the refinery to produce higher value products and maximize production of polymer-grade propylene. In addition, to prepare the tender for the engineering, procurement, and construction phase of the onsan upgrade, which will include procuring long-lead items, evaluating EPC bids, and preparing a cost estimate to support S-OIL’s final investment decision.
Toyo Engineering Corporation: Contract by S-Oil Corporation for the refinery modernization project involving the installation of new units such as a Vacuum Residue Hydrodesulfurization Unit (30,000 BPSD), a Hydrogen Unit (90 MMSCFD), and a Sulfur Recovery Unit (220 t/d), as well as the related Utility and Off-site facilities, with scope of work including basic and detailed design and procurement of equipment and materials, project management, and supervision of construction.
Daelim: The Daelim and Daewoo ENC consortium won the design project of S-Oil Ulsan onsan Industrial Complex project (construction of petroleum residue acceleration and olefin downstream facilities, May 20, 2015).
Yokogawa Electric Corp: to provide control systems for a high-severity residue fluid catalytic cracker (HS-RFCC) and auxiliary installations to be built as part of a residue upgrading and capacity expansion project under way at the 669,000-b/d onsan refinery complex. Yokogawa also will provide engineering, installation, and commissioning of the systems, as well as training for plant operators. (July, 2016)
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS): Supply 16-module Gulftronic electrostatic separator system for the RUC’s new high-severity residue fluid catalytic cracker (HS-RFCC). (August, 2016)
Subcontractors:
Technip: Awarded a contract by Daelim Industrial Company to provide proprietary equipment for the world\'s first commercial High Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) unit. The HS-FCC cracks heavy hydrocarbons into lighter olefins such as propylene and lighter fuels such as gasoline. It will be constructed as part of the expansion of the existing residue conversion facilities at the S-Oil refinery in Onsan, South Korea. The proprietary equipment provided by Technip includes an innovative downflow reactor, the key component of the HS-FCC technology. (April 2016)