POSCO chair promotes steel, energy businesses in Australia

POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, center, poses with World Steel Association Director General Edwin Basson, left, and Thachat Viswanath Narendran, the association's chair and the Tata Steel CEO, after POSCO was selected as a Sustainability Champion during the association's regular meeting in Sydney, Tuesday. Courtesy of POSCO Group

POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa paid a three-day visit to Australia this week to strengthen the group's steel and energy businesses.

The group said Thursday that Chang attended the World Steel Association's executive committee meeting in Sydney on Monday to discuss his company's planned construction of a steel mill in India and explore potential cooperation with global steelmakers in developing technologies to reduce carbon emissions.

"With global steelmakers pursuing various technologies to cut carbon emissions, international collaboration on low-carbon steelmaking processes is more essential than ever," Chang said.

POSCO, the group's steelmaking unit, was also selected a day later as a Sustainability Champion for the fourth consecutive year during the association's regular meeting, reinforcing its status as a global leader in environmental, social and corporate governance standards.

POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, second from left, inspects Senex Energy's gas field in Queensland, Australia, Wednesday. Courtesy of POSCO Group

On Wednesday, Chang visited Senex Energy's gas field in the Australian state of Queensland.

Acquired by POSCO International in 2022 for AU$442 million ($270 million), Senex Energy operates gas fields on rural land in Australia to support POSCO Group's liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.

Senex Energy plans to increase its annual LNG production capacity to 60 petajoules by 2026 from the current 20 petajoules, aiming to supply over 10 percent of the annual domestic natural gas demand on Australia's east coast.

Based on POSCO Group's large-scale investments in Australia, Chang has also been serving as chairman of the Korea-Australia Business Council.