SK Innovation(096770) E&S will bring ultralight crude secured from the Barossa gas field in Australia into Korea. It is the first case of a private corporations bringing ultralight crude secured through overseas resource development into Korea.
On the 27th, SK Innovation E&S said it plans to bring in 300,000 barrels of ultralight crude produced at the Barossa gas field through Incheon Port in early Aug. The ultralight crude that SK Innovation E&S secured from the Barossa gas field amounts to 1.1 million barrels, corresponding to its equity share out of the 3 million barrels produced annually. Of this, 300,000 barrels will enter Korea for the first time.
SK Innovation E&S has been bringing in 1.3 million tons of LNG secured from the Barossa gas field into Korea every year starting this year. The 1.3 million tons accounts for about 3% of Korea's annual LNG imports.
Ultralight crude is a light liquid form of crude oil that comes out with natural gas production and is also called condensate. It is lighter than regular crude and has properties that make it evaporate easily. It contains a high proportion of naphtha, a basic material used to make plastics and synthetic fibers.
The volume introduced this time will be fed into SK Incheon Petrochem's ultralight crude–dedicated facilities. The naphtha extracted through this process will be made into high value-added chemical products.
The Barossa gas field is a large offshore gas field in northwestern Australia. SK Innovation E&S has participated in the project since 2012, taking part in the entire development process from reserves assessment and permitting to facilities construction. The gas field equity structure consists of SK Innovation E&S 37.5%, Santos 50%, and JERA 12.5%.
SK Innovation E&S said the introduction of Australian resources this time is meaningful in terms of diversifying the energy supply chain at the national level. A company official said, "The Barossa project is a case in which private corporations participated in overseas resource development from a long-term perspective and connected it through to actual commercial production and introduction into the domestic market," adding, "Using the LNG and ultralight crude produced from the Barossa gas field to reduce external dependence on resources and support supply-demand stability for domestic industry is meaningful."