Hyundai Oil and Cepsa to look into JV aromatics plant

South Koreas Hyundai Oil Bank and Spains Cepsa have started to look into the construction of a joint-venture aromatics facility in South Korea. The move would support Cepsa’s aim to establish a petrochemical base in the growing Asian market. The UAE’s International Petroleum Investment Co. holds a 50% stake in Hyundai, which operates a refinery at Daesan on the Yellow Sea side of the Korean Peninsula. Hyundai entered the aromatics business in 1997, with the construction of 300,000-ton per year paraxylene and 100,000-ton per year benzene facility. (March 15, 2007)