Hyundai E&C lifts Korea's heaviest petrochemical equipment into place
The newly installed fractionator, a key component in propylene production, stands 118 meters tall, has a diameter of 8.5 meters and weighs 2,370 metric tons — making it the heaviest piece of petrochemical equipment ever built in the country.
Hyundai E&C transported the massive structure, equivalent in height to a 50-story apartment building, from the unloading dock to the construction site. The company successfully erected it in just 14 hours using a tower lifting system.
The Shaheen Project is a 9.3 trillion won ($6.8 billion) investment to build advanced petrochemical facilities, aimed at strengthening the oil refiner's growth drivers.
The project, located within the Onsan National Industrial Complex, spans 880,000 square meters, an area roughly the size of 120 soccer fields.
As the lead contractor, Hyundai E&C is executing Package 1 of the ethylene facility construction in collaboration with Hyundai Engineering and DL E&C. This package includes the construction of the world's largest steam cracker, incorporating thermal-crude-to-chemical technology, or TC2C, that directly converts crude oil into petrochemical feedstocks.
Beyond the propylene fractionator, the cracking heater measures 68 meters in height and weighs 3,200 tons. The heater plays a vital role in breaking down raw materials such as naphtha and LPG through thermal decomposition to produce ethylene and propylene.
According to Hyundai E&C, the project's civil engineering phase alone requires 333,749 cubic meters of concrete — equivalent to the load carried by 60,000 ready-mix concrete trucks. Additionally, 98,634 tons of steel will be used, enough to construct 14 Eiffel Towers, as told by the company.
Hyundai E&C is committed to ensuring the world's first commercial operation of TC2C technology.
With construction over 60 percent complete, the company plans to finish steam cracker installation in the first half of the year. Once operational, the facility will produce 1.8 million tons of ethylene annually, along with other key petrochemicals. Trial operations will start in the second half of this year.
Following the Shaheen project's completion in the first half of 2026, commercial production of ethylene, basic petrochemicals and polyethylene is expected to begin in the second half of the year.
"Despite the enormous scale, Hyundai E&C's extensive global project experience and EPC expertise have enabled us to stay ahead of schedule," a Hyundai E&C official said. "We are confident that we will complete the project by June next year, setting a new milestone in Korea's petrochemical plant construction industry."
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