据天然气新闻 2021年5月7日新加坡报道，由于疫苗接种计划在亚洲各地推广，制造医疗设备所需的基础材料需求激增，韩国主要的石油化工生产商已经加大力度来提高聚丙烯的产量，这为韩国进口更多的石油化工原料石脑油打开了大门。

　　首尔的下游市场分析师表示：“今年第一季度，韩国对聚丙烯和聚乙烯的需求比去年同期大幅增加了34%以上。”

　　随着东亚地区许多国家在第一季度末启动冠状病毒疫苗接种计划，韩国医疗设备制造商正在满负荷运转，用于各种塑料医疗设备的国内分销和出口。

　　因此，韩国石化企业表示，他们有能力满足医疗设备和卫生产品制造商的需求，这些企业也热衷于提供必要的材料。

　　韩国最大的石化企业韩华道达尔公司的一位管理人士说，该公司已经完成了一个为期4年的项目，以提高其聚丙烯生产能力。

　　根据这个项目，韩华道达尔公司新建了一个年产40万吨聚丙烯的工厂，将其聚丙烯产能从此前的72万吨/年提高到了112万吨/年，增幅为55.6%，增幅为韩国最大。

　　此外，乐天化学表示，韩国医疗器械制造商Poonglim Pharmatech开发的一种新型LDS或低死亡空间注射器，已被选为全国接种过程中使用的主要注射工具之一，石化制造商计划提高聚丙烯产量，因为该公司最能支持特定设备的制造。

　　因此，韩国石化工业协会称，韩国石化原料石脑油的需求在未来几个月可能呈上升趋势。

　　李峻 编译自天然气新闻

　　原文如下：

　　S Korea may seek more naphtha as polypropylene, medical device needs surge

　　South Korea's major petrochemical makers have stepped up efforts to boost production of polypropylene as base material demand for medical device manufacturing surged following the rollout of vaccination programs across Asia, opening the door for the country to import more petrochemical feedstock naphtha.

　　South Korea's demand for polypropylene and polyethylene, which are essential for making general medical devices including mask filters, plastic disposable syringes and hypodermic needles, as well as protective medical suits and gears, jumped by more than 34% in the first-quarter from a year earlier, according to downstream market analysts based in Seoul.

　　With many countries across East Asia kicking off their coronavirus vaccination programs in late Q1, South Korean medical device manufacturers are running their plants at full capacity for both domestic distribution and export of various plastic-based medical equipment.

　　Accordingly, South Korean petrochemical producers said they are well positioned to cater to the needs of medical equipment and hygiene product manufacturers, and the companies are keen to supply necessary materials.

　　South Korea's biggest petrochemical maker, Hanwha Total, has completed a four-year project to boost its polypropylene production capacity, a company official said.

　　Under the project, Hanwha Total has built a new polypropylene plant with a capacity of 400,000 mt/year, raising its polypropylene production capacity by 55.6% to 1.12 million mt/year, the biggest in South Korea, from 720,000 mt/year previously.

　　In addition, Lotte Chemical said a new LDS, or Low Dead Space, syringe developed by South Korea's medical device manufacturer, Poonglim Pharmatech, has been selected as one of the main injection tools to be used in the nationwide vaccination process and the petrochemical maker plans to ramp up polypropylene output as the company stands best to support manufacturing of the particular device.

　　As a result, South Korea's petrochemical feedstock naphtha requirement will likely trend higher over the coming months, according to Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.