City Oil Field signs Korea’s 1st export deal for recycled naphtha feedstock
WAVE Jeongeup CEO Park Jung-woo poses after signing a sales contract with Trafigura, Tuesday. Courtesy of City Oil Field
City Oil Field, a company specializing in technologies that convert waste plastics into high-quality oil, said Friday that WAVE Jeongeup and Trafigura have signed a sales contract covering the entire output of naphtha-grade recycled feedstock produced at the former.
WAVE Jeongeup is a facility that uses City Oil Field’s proprietary noncombustion low-temperature pyrolysis technology.
The company said the deal marks the first overseas export of recycled feedstock produced with Korean-developed technology, signaling the beginning of its efforts to build a global supply chain.
According to the company, the agreement also marks the first export of ISCC PLUS-certified, naphtha-grade recycled feedstock made from waste plastics to a global commodities company such as Trafigura.
The company said the deal goes beyond conventional plastic recycling, as recycled feedstock produced with Korean-developed technology has been incorporated into a global petrochemical supply chain. It added that the global recycled naphtha market has so far been dominated by Northern European and major global energy companies.
WAVE Jeongeup operates a facility capable of producing 4,550 tons of high-quality recycled feedstock annually from waste vinyl and plastics using low-temperature indirect electric-heating technology.
City Oil Field said its technology uses ceramic-ball wave energy to break down carbon-bond structures, improving oil recovery rates while minimizing carbon emissions and the generation of harmful substances such as dioxins.
The resulting recycled feedstock is said to meet naphtha-grade quality standards and can be directly used in naphtha cracking centers and other petrochemical processes.
The company noted that global petrochemical firms have been seeking to secure recycled feedstock amid stricter environmental, social and governance and carbon-reduction regulations, fueling demand for ISCC PLUS-certified recycled naphtha.
The contract is also drawing attention as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and global supply chain instability continue to heighten volatility in crude oil and naphtha prices, making recycled naphtha derived from waste plastics an increasingly important alternative feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
Citing a September 2025 report by Europe-based Research Nester, the company said the global recycled naphtha market was valued at $698.1 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.88 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of more than 10 percent between 2026 and 2035.
“City Oil Field’s low-temperature pyrolysis technology is not simply a waste treatment technology, but one that can transform the feedstock paradigm of the petrochemical industry,” City Oil Field President Jeong Yeong-hun said.
“Through this export contract with Trafigura, we have proven the global competitiveness of Korea’s circular-economy technology.”
City Oil Field said it plans to expand its ISCC PLUS-based global supply chain and pursue growth opportunities in the recycled feedstock and sustainable aviation fuel markets through partnerships with domestic and overseas refining and petrochemical companies.