GS Caltex said on the 20th that it held a completion ceremony in Balikpapan, Indonesia, for the palm oil refining facility of ARC (AGPA Refinery Complex), a joint venture with POSCO INTERNATIONAL.
About 100 people attended the ceremony, including GS Caltex President Hur Sae-hong, POSCO INTERNATIONAL President Lee Gye-in, officials from both companies, the Indonesian government (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Investment, and the city of Balikpapan), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Indonesia, and industry and local representatives.
GS Caltex and POSCO INTERNATIONAL established the joint venture ARC in Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, in 2023 and, through ARC, invested about 260 billion won on a 300,000-square-meter site in the Balikpapan Industrial Complex in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, breaking ground on the palm oil refining facility in May last year.
The palm oil refining facility completed by ARC produces refined palm products such as biodiesel feedstock and edible oils using crude palm oil (CPO) as feedstock, and has an annual refining capacity of about 500,000 tons (t).
POSCO INTERNATIONAL plans to supply crude palm oil produced at Indonesian plantations to ARC. ARC intends to sell refined palm products not only in Indonesia but also to nearby countries such as Korea and China. With the completion and operation of the palm oil refining facility, GS Caltex has secured a stable supply of biodiesel feedstock such as palm stearin.
Hur Sae-hong said, "Along with low-carbon new businesses such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and waste plastic recycling, we will further solidify the foundation for sustainable growth by strengthening the competitiveness of the bio value chain."