An oil tanker loads condensate at the floating production storage and offloading vessel at Australia's Barossa gas field. [SK Innovation E&S]
An oil tanker loads condensate at the floating production storage and offloading vessel at Australia's Barossa gas field. [SK Innovation E&S]

SK Innovation E&S said Monday it will import 300,000 barrels of condensate from Australia's Barossa gas field, aiming to reduce the country's heavy reliance on Middle Eastern crude and bolster supply stability.

The Barossa gas field is a large-scale development that SK Innovation E&S has been involved in since 2012. The company holds a 37.5 percent stake in the field, entitling it to 1.1 million barrels of the 3 million barrels of condensate the field produces. This marks the first time any portion of that allocation has been brought into South Korea. The shipment is set to arrive at Incheon port in early August.

By diversifying crude supply away from the Middle East, SK Innovation E&S said it aims to contribute to South Korea's energy security. Condensate, a light liquid hydrocarbon extracted during natural gas production, contains a significant proportion of naphtha. "Amid concerns over crude supply disruptions caused by the recent situation in the Middle East, this is the first case of a private company importing condensate secured through overseas resource development," a company official said.

The imported condensate will be processed at SK Incheon Petrochemical's dedicated condensate-processing facility. Naphtha extracted through the process will be used to produce paraxylene, a high-value chemical, as well as petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel, helping improve the company's overall cost competitiveness.

SK Innovation E&S has also been importing 1.3 million tons of LNG annually from the Barossa gas field starting this year, equivalent to about 3 percent of South Korea's total annual LNG imports. Including this volume, the company secures about 20 million barrels' worth of LNG resources annually across 11 countries.

"The Barossa project is a case where a private company took a long-term approach to overseas resource development and carried it through to actual commercial production and domestic import," a company official said. "It is significant in that we are using LNG and condensate produced at the Barossa gas field to reduce dependence on external sources and support supply stability for domestic industries."


klee@heraldcorp.com