South Korea's SK Energy boosts steam cracker operations

South Korea’s SK Energy has increased operating rates at its No. 2 naphtha-fed steam cracker at Ulsan from 90% to 100% capacity from the middle of January, a company source said. The No. 2 cracker is able to produce 670,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) of ethylene and 360,000 mt/y of propylene. South Korean steam cracker operators have started raising their operating rates as prices of some petrochemical products started rebounding recently. This recovery is only seen in limited petrochemical products. (January 15, 2009)