S-Oil signs $3.7 bil. deal with SABIC for polyethylene exports

People walk in front of the headquarters of S-Oil in Mapo District, Seoul, Nov. 16, 2022. Yonhap

S-Oil Corp., Korea's third-largest oil refiner by sales, said Monday it has signed a 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) agreement with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) to cooperate on exports of polyethylene (PE) products.

Under the five-year deal, which runs through December 2030, SABIC will handle the global marketing of PE products produced by S-Oil, the company said in a press release.

SABIC is an affiliate of Saudi Aramco, which holds a 63.4 percent stake in S-Oil.

The PE products covered by the agreement will be produced at S-Oil's new petrochemical plant currently under construction in Korea, a company spokesperson said.

S-Oil is building a 9.26 trillion won petrochemical complex under its Shaheen project, with operations scheduled to begin in late 2026. The facility, located next to the company's existing refinery in Ulsan, about 360 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will produce key petrochemical products, including ethylene, propylene and butadiene.