GS Caltex and POSCO International Begin Bio Feedstock Production in Indonesia

Palm Oil Refinery Inauguration Ceremony Held in Balikpapan, Indonesia

GS Caltex announced on the 20th that it held the inauguration ceremony for the palm oil refining facility of ARC (AGPA Refinery Complex), a joint venture with POSCO International, in Balikpapan, Indonesia.

Photo of the inauguration ceremony of the palm oil refining facility of ARC Corporation, a joint venture between GS Caltex and POSCO International, in Indonesia on the 19th. Key officials, including Huh Sehong, President of GS Caltex (6th from the left), and Lee Gyein, President of POSCO International (7th from the left), are posing for a commemorative photo. GS Caltex

Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony, including Huh Sehong, President of GS Caltex, Lee Gyein, President of POSCO International, officials from both companies, representatives from the Indonesian government (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Investment, and Balikpapan City), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Indonesia, as well as industry and local stakeholders.

GS Caltex and POSCO International established the joint venture ARC in 2023 in Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer. Through ARC, they invested about 260 billion won in a 300,000-square-meter site in the Balikpapan Industrial Complex in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and began construction of the palm oil refining facility in May last year.

The palm oil refining facility completed by ARC uses crude palm oil (CPO) as its raw material to produce refined palm oil products such as biodiesel feedstock and edible oils, with an annual refining capacity of approximately 500,000 tons.

POSCO International will supply ARC with crude palm oil produced at its plantations in Indonesia, and the refined palm oil produced by ARC will be sold not only in Indonesia but also in neighboring countries such as Korea and China. GS Caltex plans to enhance the operational efficiency of ARC's refining facility based on its process operation capabilities and will sell products used as biodiesel feedstock from the refined palm oil to the Korean market.

With the completion and operation of this palm oil refining facility, GS Caltex will be able to stably secure biodiesel feedstocks such as palm stearin, thereby establishing a biodiesel value chain that extends from securing raw materials to product manufacturing and sales.

President Huh Sehong stated, "The completion of the ARC palm oil refining facility is a tangible achievement of GS Caltex's Green Transformation strategy and a meaningful turning point in strengthening our presence in the global bio market," adding, "Along with new low-carbon businesses such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and waste plastic recycling, we will further solidify the foundation for sustainable growth by enhancing our competitiveness in the bio value chain."

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