Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, President of Downstream at Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, visited the S-OIL Shahin project site on the 12th to encourage the personnel and pledged continued support for the successful completion of the project.
Mohammed Al Katani, President of Aramco Downstream, visited the S-OIL Shahin project site on the 12th to encourage the personnel and took a commemorative photo together. Photo by S-OIL
Al-Qahtani, who also serves as a member of the S-OIL Board of Directors, visited the Shahin project construction site in the Onsan National Industrial Complex in Ulsan on this day, accompanied by S-OIL CEO Anwar Al Hizazi and Khalid Radi, Acting CEO of Aramco Asia Korea (AAK).
As of May 13, the Shahin project has surpassed a construction progress rate of 69.1% and is proceeding smoothly.
Since attending the Shahin project groundbreaking ceremony in March 2023, Al-Qahtani has frequently visited the S-OIL Onsan plant, demonstrating his deep interest in the project.
During this visit, he toured various construction sites, including the TC2C facility, which will be the first in the world to commercialize Saudi Aramco's new technology, as well as the steam cracker (ethylene production facility) and the polymer plant (petrochemical product manufacturing facility). He also left his signature on the recently erected propylene separation tower, which is the tallest in Korea at 118 meters, wishing for safe construction and the project's success.
Mohammed Al Katani, President of Downstream at Aramco, visited the S-OIL Shahin project site on the 12th, wishing for safe construction and success, and left his signature on the facility. Photo by S-OIL
Al-Qahtani expressed his deep interest in the project, stating, "I came to Korea to visit the project site before construction reaches its peak and to express Aramco's gratitude to you and your work." He encouraged the workers, saying, "As an engineer who has participated in many large-scale projects, I am well aware of your sense of mission to carry out construction work on time and with the highest quality in such large-scale projects."
He continued, "The Shahin project is evidence of Aramco's ongoing commitment to petrochemicals," and added, "It not only inspires the future growth of S-OIL but also serves as a great inspiration to the entire global petrochemical market."
Mohammed Al Katani, President of Downstream at Aramco (5th from the right), visited the S-OIL Shahin project site on the 12th to encourage the personnel and took a commemorative photo with executives including CEO Anwar Al Hizazi (6th). Photo by S-OIL
▲Shahin Project?Contributing to Fundamental Competitiveness in Petrochemicals
The Shahin project, which is scheduled for mechanical completion in the first half of next year, is expected to enhance the fundamental competitiveness of the domestic petrochemical industry, which is currently facing challenges due to a slowdown in global demand growth, large-scale facility expansions in China, and continued oversupply in the region.
Amid intensifying competition caused by large-scale new and expanded facilities overseas, there are growing expectations that the Shahin project will strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic petrochemical downstream sector by producing a variety of derivatives. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this will have a positive ripple effect on new and expanded investments by petrochemical companies and on the regional economy.
An S-OIL official stated, "We plan to supply basic feedstocks produced at the Shahin project facility, which boasts excellent cost competitiveness and high energy efficiency, mainly through pipelines to domestic petrochemical downstream companies." The official added, "By supplying raw materials to downstream companies in a timely and stable manner, not only will we reduce transportation costs within the value chain, but we also expect to create a competitive petrochemical industry cluster, which will have a positive impact on revitalizing the regional economy and strengthening the long-term national industrial competitiveness."
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