SK Corp. to build naphtha cracker in China

SK Chemical sold its TPU business to Lubrizol Corp.

SK Chemicals, Eastman Chemical Form JV for cellulose acetate tow

BASF sells styrene monomer plant in Korea

SK Corp

1962/10 Korea Oil Corp. established.
　　　Born as the First Oil Refining Company in Korea

In the 60s when Korea strove to be economically independent and industrialized, SK Corp. (the first domestic oil refining company, originally called Korea Oil Corporation) started operating an oil refinery in 1964. SK Corp. has played a key role in the economic development of Korea by supplying oil steadily for almost 40 years since then.

1970-79
　　　Playing a Major Role in the Economic Development of Korea

In the 70s when the Korean economy made rapid progress, SK Corp. started a petrochemical business which was the core business of the second five-year economic development plan. This business operated the first domestic aroma and ethylene production facilities to supply chemical materials nation wide. Therefore, it can be said that the SK Corp. opened a new chapter in an industry that is considered the essence of modern industry.

1970. 5		Aromatic plant started up (216,000 tons/yr.).
1970. 6		50 percent equity share and management rights acquired by Gulf Oil Corp.
1973. 3		Naphtha cracking center started up (100,000 tons/yr. of ethylene)
1978. 3		Naphtha cracking center expanded to 155,000 tons/yr. of ethylene.

　

「人民網日本語版」2004年10月29日

韓国・SKグループ、中国法人設立　石油事業展開へ　

　韓国大手財閥・SKグループの傘下企業が28日午後、投資額3千万ドルの中国法人「SK（中国）投資有限公司」の設立を発表した。新会社の金相国総裁(社長)は「中国は今後、SKのグローバル化の重心となる。このため、SKが中国から上げた利益はすべて中国へ再投資し、中国事業の発展を促進していきたい」と表明した。

　金相国総裁は、新会社の発展方向を次のように位置付けている。

　実力ある中国の現地企業との協力を展開し、中国政府の開放政策にあわせて原油の卸売・小売分野に進出するほか、中国事業の長期的発展に着目し、製油業などの事業も展開していく。これにより、企業の競争力を確保し、産業のバリューチェーンを構築する。中国における投資方針の柱は、（１）中国国内に設立した法人をSK（中国）投資に統合し、管理構造を簡素化する、（２）今後中国に設立する法人は、SK（中国）投資有限公司からの直接出資とする――の2つ。　

朝鮮日報　2007/05/30

SKグループ、7月から持ち株体制に

　SKグループが、持ち株会社体制への移行を最終決定した。同社は29日、汝矣島63ビルで臨時株主総会を開き、持ち株会社体制への移行に伴う会社分割案件などを決議した。

　これにより、SKは7月1日からSKグループの持ち株会社となり、精油、化学事業などを担う新設法人はSKエナジーという社名で新たに出発する。

May 29, 2007 SK

Shareholders of SK Corporation today overwhelmingly approved the company’s shift to a holding-company structure and the split into two entities, SK Holdings Company Ltd and SK Energy Company Ltd. Shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting held today in Seoul, showed their strong support for the SK Corp. Board’s recommendation.

SK Corp.’s structural reorganization splits the company into a holding company and an operating company. The new holding company, SK Holdings will concentrate on business investments, while SK Energy, the operating affiliate, focuses on the energy and chemical businesses. SK Holdings will also carry out the role as the incubator for new business areas, taking charge of the life science business sector.

2007/7/2 SK

SK Corporation Restructures to Enhance Shareholder Value and Corporate Governance Transparency

　　o Reorganization Splits Company into SK Holdings and SK Energy as of July 1
　　o Two New Entities Hold First Board Meetings to Appoint Chief Executives

SK Holdings and SK Energy today held their first Board of Directors meetings following the structural reorganization of SK Corporation, which has been split into a holding company and an energy operating company as of July 1.

The two new entities will be listed separately on the Korea Stock Exchange. With the split-off effective July 1, SK Holdings and SK Energy will begin trading separately on July 25. Trading has been suspended for SK Corp.’s existing shares since the closing of the Korea Stock Exchange on June 27.

<About SK’s Holding Company Structure >
The following illustration describes the new structure of SK Holdings following the reorganization.

The Lubrizol Corporation 2008/10/13

Lubrizol Expands Estane Engineered Polymers Product Offerings

The Lubrizol Corporation announced today that it will expand its Estane(R) Engineered Polymers product line with the purchase of the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and conductive polymer business and assets from SK Chemicals Co., Ltd., a global leader in specialty chemicals and life sciences. In 2007 this business had annualized revenues of approximately $30 million. The deal closed on October 10, 2008.
With 50 years of industry experience, Lubrizol is a global leader in thermoplastic elastomers, marketing products under the Estane Thermoplastic Polyurethane brand name. Estane TPU is an engineered, highly versatile thermoplastic elastomer that can be processed through film, sheet and fabric coating, extrusion molding, injection molding, calendaring, overmolding, and blowmolding for markets like wire and cable, hose and tube, optical, industrial, agriculture, and others.
“The combination of SK Chemicals’ market presence in Asia Pacific, in particular Korea, along with Lubrizol’s significant global position creates synergies and expanded product offerings that we believe will benefit all of our customers,” said Mike Vaughn, Lubrizol vice president, Estane Engineered Polymers.
The agreement includes all commercial, production and research and development assets of the TPU and conductive polymer business of SK Chemicals, a Republic of Korea corporation.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, marketing and production will be transitioned from SK Chemicals to Lubrizol, unifying the product offerings under the Estane Engineered Polymers product line.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

* SK Chemical sold its two polyurethane plants in Korea and China to U.S. chemical company Lubrizol Corp.

January 22, 2009 Dow Jones

SK Chemicals, Eastman Chemical Form JV

South Korea's SK Chemicals Co. said Thursday that it has signed a preliminary deal with U.S.-based Eastman Chemical Co. to set up a joint venture, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The joint venture, to be named Eastman Fibers Korea Ltd., will build a plant with annual capacity of 2,700 metric tons of cellulose acetate tow (酢酸セルロース繊維の束), a raw material used primarily in cigarette filters, Yonhap said.

The plant is scheduled to be built in the city of Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, sometime between early this year and the second half of next year, it said.

Eastman will hold an 80% stake in the joint venture with SK Chemicals owning the remainder, it said.

2009-08-03

BASF sells styrene monomer site in Korea

BASF has announced that it will sell its styrene monomer site in Ulsan, Korea, to SK Energy, a South Korean refining company. The contract comprises the plant with a capacity of 320,000 metric tons of styrene monomer per year and the 50,000 square meter site, which is situated within SK’s production complex . The two companies have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.

Hyung Tae Chang, Group Vice President Styrenics Asia explained: “The styrene monomer plant in Ulsan has been idled since October 2008 because of an oversupply in the regional market. We are now obtaining styrene monomer from other sources and will continue to supply our Asian customers with the plastics polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) from a production plant at another BASF site in Ulsan.” The sale will affect 34 employees, most of whom have accepted early retirement programs.

Joachim Streu, President of BASF’s global Styrenics unit added: “We are working intensively to restructure and significantly improve profitability in the styrenics value chain. In order to shape the business sustainably, we are considering all options, including capacity reductions such as the closure of an 80,000 ton per year polystyrene plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in June 2009.”

　

BASFは8月3日、蔚山のSKコンプレックスにある年産32万トンのSMプラントをSK Energy に売却すると発表した。

このプラントはアジア市場の供給過剰のため昨年10月から休止していた。

BASFは蔚山にPS(25万トン)、EPS(8万トン)、ABS(25万トン)のプラントを持つが、原料SMは外部購入する。

このSMプラントはBASFが2001年にSKから購入したもの。

SKは同地に元 SK Oxichemical のSM/PO（384千トン/180千トン）の併産設備を持っている。