A Plant to Produce Low-sulfur Fuel Oil
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said on April 17 that SK Energy’s investment in vacuum residue desulfurization (VRDS) facilities is a good example of a shift to a blue ocean.
Chey visited the construction site of the facilities at SK Energy's Ulsan Complex. “These facilities will set a good example of a blue ocean shift by leading the market, creating new jobs and enhancing the corporate value of SK Innovation."
A VRDS facility produces light crude and low-sulfur oil by desulfurizing vacuum residue (VR) from the vacuum distillation process with the addition of hydrogen. It is considered an example of an eco-friendly fuel oil production facility.
SK Group has been building a VRDS facility on a site in SK Energy’s Ulsan Complex since November 2017 with an investment of more than 1 trillion won, The construction period has been shortened by two months and its progress is now close to 60 percent.
The completion of the VRDS faility is expected to significantly boost the enterprise value of SK Innovation. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that its regulations on sulfur content in ship fuel oil would be tightened from 3.5 percent to less than 0.5 percent starting in January 2020. Accordingly, SK Energy has invested in the project and is expected to become the No. 1 supplier of low-sulfur fuel oil in Korea when the plant is completed.