POSCO Considering Undersea Tunnel to Connect Gwangyang Steelworks and Yeosu Industrial Complex
01/17/2014 - POSCO's Gwangyang Steelworks and Yeosu Industrial Complex are beginning to review an undersea tunnel project to exchange by-product gas.
POSCO participated in an ‘Industrial By-product Re-resourcing Project MOU’ on 7 January 2014 hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Resources along with four petrochemical companies located in the Yeosu Industrial Complex, including Hanwha Chemical, E1, HU-CHEMS, and Air Liquide Korea and agreed to carry out a project for an undersea tunnel to exchange by-product gas.
At a signing ceremony at Seoul Millenium Hilton, an MOU concerning this ‘By-product Gas Utilization Project’ was agreed to as a follow-up to the on-site project announced at the President supervised 4th Trade Investment Promotion meeting on 13 December 2013.
By-product gases produced at each of the industrial complexes can be exchanged if a 3.8km undersea tunnel is built connecting Gwangyang Steelworks and the Yeosu Industrial Complex. By-product gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen monoxide are produced at Gwangyang Steelworks, while nitric acid and caustic soda are produced as by-products at the Yeosu Industrial Complex. Currently, by-product gases can be used as materials for petrochemical companies but transportation is difficult and therefore mostly consumed within Gwangyang Steelworks while companies in the Yeosu Industrial Complex use expensive petroleum based materials. Once by-product gases can be supplied via an undersea tunnel, production costs can be reduced thanks to lower material and logistics costs, for an annual economic effect in excess of 120 billion KRW.
Detailed project planning and a feasibility study will be carried out in parallel to establish project organization this year, and after authorizations and approvals are received for environmental effect evaluations and the use of shared water, undersea tunnel construction will begin next year for completion in 2019. The total project budget is 200 billion KRW, to be fully funded by a consortium of companies in both industrial complexes.
At a signing ceremony at Seoul Millenium Hilton, an MOU concerning this ‘By-product Gas Utilization Project’ was agreed to as a follow-up to the on-site project announced at the President supervised 4th Trade Investment Promotion meeting on 13 December 2013.
By-product gases produced at each of the industrial complexes can be exchanged if a 3.8km undersea tunnel is built connecting Gwangyang Steelworks and the Yeosu Industrial Complex. By-product gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen monoxide are produced at Gwangyang Steelworks, while nitric acid and caustic soda are produced as by-products at the Yeosu Industrial Complex. Currently, by-product gases can be used as materials for petrochemical companies but transportation is difficult and therefore mostly consumed within Gwangyang Steelworks while companies in the Yeosu Industrial Complex use expensive petroleum based materials. Once by-product gases can be supplied via an undersea tunnel, production costs can be reduced thanks to lower material and logistics costs, for an annual economic effect in excess of 120 billion KRW.
Detailed project planning and a feasibility study will be carried out in parallel to establish project organization this year, and after authorizations and approvals are received for environmental effect evaluations and the use of shared water, undersea tunnel construction will begin next year for completion in 2019. The total project budget is 200 billion KRW, to be fully funded by a consortium of companies in both industrial complexes.
