SK Innovation and Japan's ENEOS Collaborate on Low-Carbon Energy Source Development and Energy Supply Cooperation

On the 31st, in Seogwipo City, Jeju, Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, and Saito Takeshi, President of ENEOS (5th and 6th from the left), along with executives from both companies, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation plans agreed upon at the 'Executive Meeting' and took a commemorative photo. Attending the event were key SK Innovation affiliates' executives including Kang Dong-su, Head of SK Innovation Portfolio Division, Na Kyung-su, President of SK Geocentric, Park Sang-gyu, President of SK Enmove, and Seo Seok-won, President of SK Trading International (1st, 3rd, 7th, and 9th from the left). Photo by SK Innovation

SK Innovation is strengthening its cooperation with ENEOS, Japan's largest integrated energy company. Building on long-standing collaboration in refining, chemicals, and lubricants businesses, both companies have agreed to focus on future cooperation in developing low-carbon energy sources, technology exchange, and joint project promotion.

SK Innovation and ENEOS executives held a 'Management Meeting' on the 31st of last month in Seogwipo, Jeju. This event, which began in 2007, is an annual gathering where the top executives of the two leading integrated energy companies from Korea and Japan share current issues in the energy industries of both countries and discuss cooperation strategies. The meeting was not held from 2020 to 2022 due to COVID-19 but resumed this year with an expanded scope of cooperation.

Attending this year's meeting were Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation; Na Kyung-soo, President of SK Geocentric; Park Sang-gyu, President of SK Enmove; and Seo Seok-won, President of SK Trading International. From ENEOS, the executives included President Saito Takeshi; Vice President Yatabe Yasushi; Toru Konishi, Head of Lubricants; Sunaga Kotaro, Head of Corporate Planning and Overseas Business Development; and Oshida Yasuhiko, Head of Crude Oil, Product Trading, and Chemical Business.

The key agenda items at this year's event were stable energy supply and carbon reduction realization. Earlier, Vice Chairman Kim Jun and President Saito met in May and recognized that these challenges are common to both companies and the energy industries of both countries. They also agreed on concretizing cooperation to address these issues, forming a joint task force (TF) involving working-level staff from both companies to actively explore cooperation measures over five months.

During the management meeting, various measures to respond to energy transition were discussed based on the TF's review. Based on this, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agreed cooperation plans. The MOU includes joint development of low-carbon energy sources, strengthening competitiveness in the petroleum business through cooperation in petroleum product supply and facility operations, and new business development related to circular economy and carbon reduction in the chemical and lubricants businesses.

To materialize the MOU, both companies will share capabilities and technologies in low-carbon energy development areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), and jointly explore projects.

In the petroleum business, SK Energy's Ulsan Complex (CLX) and ENEOS refining facilities in Japan will establish a continuous cooperation system for optimal operation to actively respond to market changes. Joint research to achieve both companies' carbon reduction goals, including process efficiency improvement and energy consumption reduction, will also be considered. Furthermore, specific cooperation measures will be sought to ensure stable energy supply and demand between the two countries under various scenarios.

In the chemical and lubricants businesses, the scope of cooperation will expand to new businesses, building on the successful joint ventures such as Ulsan Aromatics (UAC) and Yubase Manufacturing Asia (YMAC). SK Geocentric plans to promote cooperation in circular economy and carbon reduction in the petrochemical sector, while SK Enmove will pursue collaboration in immersion cooling and waste lubricant upcycling businesses.

Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, said, "The long-standing cooperation between Korea and Japan's leading energy companies, which face similar business conditions, has led to mutual growth across energy businesses such as refining, chemicals, and lubricants. We hope that the cooperation between the two companies for carbon reduction will serve as a catalyst leading the 'Carbon to Green' era encompassing both Korea and Japan."

ENEOS President Saito Takeshi said, "The discussions were deeper than ever before, even considering the long history of cooperation between the two companies. We hope that through even closer exchanges in the future, both companies can jointly lead the 'decarbonized society' we aim for."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.