Lotte reviewing options for recently opened Indonesian naphtha cracker

Seoul – Lotte Chemical has announced that it is “reviewing various strategic plans using our stake in subsidiary Lotte Chemical Indonesia" which was officially inaugurated in November. 

In a 2 Dec stock exchange filing, the Korean supplier said it had not made any specific decision regarding a potential “second stake sale” in Lotte Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene (LINE) petrochemical project.

The filing came in response to media reports suggesting that Lotte Chemical was seeking to sell a 30% stake in the Indonesian petrochemical complex, with an estimated transaction value of around $1.7 billion (1.4 billion).

Operational since May, LINE is a $3.95 billion project which represents one of Lotte Chemical’s largest overseas investments.

The complex has the capacity to produce 1 million tonnes per year of ethylene, 520 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of propylene, 350ktpa of polypropylene, 140ktpa of butadiene, and 400ktpa of BTX.

With most output targeted at the Indonesian domestic market, Lotte said the project could lift Indonesia’s ethylene self-sufficiency rate from about 44% to 90%.