0T KRW
Total investmentLARGEST IN COMPANY HISTORY
GS CALTEX BUSINESS — CHAPTER 03
900,000 tons of ethylene a year from MFC, the largest investment in company history —
the third chapter: cracking molecules open.
The column separated crude. The cracker breaks molecules. And in that hot cut, the seeds of plastics are born.
ORIGIN
In the late 18th century, chemists noticed that ethylene formed oily droplets when it met chlorine. They called it gaz oléfiant — the oil-making gas — and that is where olefin comes from.
Despite the name, what olefins make today is not oil but the raw material of plastics. The double bond (C=C) — two carbons holding hands twice — makes these molecules eager to react, and that is where films, containers, fibers and car parts begin.
01 — MIXED FEED
An ordinary cracker (NCC) takes only naphtha. MFC also feeds in ethane, LPG and refinery off-gas — that is the Mixed in its name. Low-value byproducts the refinery already had become feedstock.
01 — CRACKING
Furnace heat breaks the long hydrocarbon chains. Where distillation separates by boiling point, cracking breaks by heat. After quenching, compression and separation, the pieces become products.
01 — OLEFINS
The double bond (C=C) is highly reactive — always ready to join another molecule. The ethylene and propylene made this way are the starting materials of plastics.
ETHYLENE 900K TONS / YR02 — OUTPUT
The simplest olefin and the rice of petrochemicals — starting material for PE and much more.
Feedstock for polypropylene — the light, tough plastic in car interiors and food containers.
A blend of four-carbon molecules — feedstock for synthetic rubber and further chemistry.
A cut rich in benzene, toluene and xylene — where this story meets the previous chapter again.
03 — FEED
04 — THE PROJECT
MFC was completed in Yeosu in November 2022. Not a mere expansion — the turning point from refiner to total energy company, a new pillar built on half a century of refining.
Total investmentLARGEST IN COMPANY HISTORY
MFC completedYEOSU
Less energy usedVS. CONVENTIONAL, APPROX.
CO₂ reduced per yearVS. CONVENTIONAL
When double bonds ready to react join hands — polymerization begins. Pieces become chains, chains become materials: the world of polymer is next.