GS Caltex, POSCO International open new palm-oil refinery in Indonesia
- GS Caltex
- 16m
- 2 min read
GS Caltex held an inauguration ceremony Nov. 19 in Balikpapan, Indonesia, for the palm-oil refining facility established by the AGPA Refinery Complex, a joint-investment venture with POSCO International.
The ceremony was attended by over 100 participants including corporate executives, government officials, and industry and local community stakeholders.
GS Caltex and POSCO International established ARC in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, in 2023.
Through this joint venture, the two companies invested a total of 260 billion South Korean wons (USD$176.4 million) to build a palm-oil refining facility on a 300,000-square-meter site within the Balikpapan Industrial Complex in East Kalimantan.
Construction began in May 2024 and the facility was completed this month.
The newly completed ARC facility processes crude palm oil (CPO) into refined palm-oil products, including biodiesel feedstock and edible oils.
It has an annual refining capacity of approximately 500,000 tons.
POSCO International supplies ARC with crude palm oil sourced from farms in Indonesia, enabling the production of refined palm oil.
The resulting output will be sold not only in Indonesia but also in neighboring markets such as Korea and China.
GS Caltex said it will leverage its process operational expertise to enhance ARC’s efficiency and supply the refined palm oil used as biodiesel feedstock to the Korean market.
With the completion and start of operations at the new facility, GS Caltex has secured a stable supply of biodiesel feedstock, including palm stearin, and established an integrated biodiesel value chain spanning raw-material sourcing through to product manufacturing and sales.
“The completion of the ARC palm-oil refining facility represents a tangible achievement in our green-transformation strategy and a meaningful milestone in strengthening GS Caltex’s position in the global bio market,” said GS Caltex CEO Saehong Hur at the ceremony. “Alongside our low-carbon business initiatives in hydrogen, CCUS and plastic recycling, we will continue strengthening our competitiveness across the bio value chain to further solidify the foundation for sustainable growth.”
