SK Innovation E&S To Import Condensate From Barossa Gas Field To South Korea

According to Yonhap, SK Innovation E&S, the energy arm of South Korea's SK Group, said it will import condensate from the Barossa offshore gas field in Australia, marking the first such shipment to South Korea from the project. The company said the initial 300,000-barrel cargo is scheduled to arrive at Incheon port early next month and will be used as feedstock at its petrochemical plant in Incheon to make naphtha for products including paraxylene and jet fuel. SK Innovation E&S began production at Barossa in January and holds an entitlement to 1.1 million barrels of condensate out of the 3 million barrels expected to be produced annually from the field. The company bought a 37.5% stake in the project in 2012, while Australian energy producer Santos owns 50% and JERA owns the remaining 12.5%. The three companies have invested about 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in the project. In February, SK Innovation E&S shipped liquefied natural gas from Barossa to South Korea, and it expects to secure 1.3 million metric tons of LNG a year from the field over the next 20 years, equal to about 3% of South Korea's annual LNG imports.