SEOUL: Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) is seeking a refiner or a petrochemical maker willing to buy land to build a 5 trillion won ($4.70 billion) refining or petrochemical plant, the state-run oil company has said in a public tender document.
KNOC will close a tender to sell 92 hectares (227 acres) of the necessary land for 519 billion Korean won ($488 million), at 4 p.m.
South Korean refiner S-Oil Corp is likely to bid to acquire the land for a refinery or petrochemical plant it has been planning, said a KNOC source who declined to be identified as the matter is sensitive. South Korea media have also been reporting that S-Oil has been asking the government to help it get land for its project.
S-Oil, with 669,000 barrel-per-day of refining capacity, is looking to expand its paraxylene plant by buying the land from KNOC, according to the media reports.
Paraxylene, used to make clothing and plastic bottles, is produced by processing naphtha, a refined product of crude oil or condensates. An S-Oil spokesman was not reachable for comment.
KNOC has said that potential bidders must submit approvals from their boards of directors for a refinery or petrochemical plant investment plan as one of the qualifications for participating in the tender for the land.
Results of the tender will be available at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the tender document.
The land on sale is located in the city of Ulsan, over 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul.
S-Oil's refining facility is in the same city. S-Oil's largest shareholder with a 35 percent stake is Aramco Overseas Co B.V., a unit of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco).
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