S-Oil opens TS&D center to hone core competitiveness
S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi, sixth from left, poses ahead of a tape-cutting ceremony in front of its TS&D Center in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of S-Oil
S-Oil has opened its cutting-edge research facility, the Technical Service & Development (TS&D) Center, which will play a pivotal role for the company to develop value-added quality petrochemical products, the company said Thursday.
The oil refiner invested 144.4 billion won ($111.14 million) in building the center in western Seoul. The company aims to turn the facility into its research hub to develop key technologies used in areas such as low-carbon energy.
The company also said it will keep expanding manpower for the 36,700-square-meter facility, in a bid to enhance its tech prowess for sustainable growth down the road.
“TS&D Center will consolidate its footing as a facility to drive the firm’s future growth powered by creative technologies,” S-Oil CEO Al-Hejazi said. The center will focus on developing quality products that minimize safety-related concerns to customers, and do less harm to the environment, according to the S-Oil chief.
The government also expected TS&D Center to help tighten the firm’s capability in developing eco-friendly products.
“TS&D Center is expected to play a key role for the company to achieve the world’s top level of energy efficiency,” Park Duk-ryul, director general for cross-border investment policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said.
S-Oil's TS&D Center in Seoul / Courtesy of S-Oil
The facility will also focus on developing technologies for products used to cool electric vehicle batteries and servers, the company said.
The opening of TS&D Center will also pave the way for S-Oil to strengthen its tech competitiveness for its much-hyped Shaheen project. Under the drive, Aramco, a major shareholder of S-Oil, made the largest-ever investment worth 9.3 trillion won in Korea to establish the nation’s largest petrochemical plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan by 2026. S-Oil announced the drive to speed up its transition into an eco-friendly energy and chemical company.
Spearheaded by TS&D Center, S-Oil also plans to step up its R&D efforts for tech development in new energy areas, such as clean hydrogen, ammonia and biofuel, which the company pays particular attention as its next strategic investment area amid the global energy paradigm shift for carbon neutrality.