Korea SK to up naphtha cracker operations-co source

SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) - South Korea's largest oil refiner SK Energy (096770.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will ramp up operations at its No.1 naphtha cracker to full capacity "soon", due to improving ethylene margins, a company source said on Friday.

"We have not done it yet, but it's now heading that way. It will happen sooner or later," he said.

SK's No.1 naphtha cracker, which has a capacity of 210,000 tonnes per year (tpy), has been running at a rate of 80 percent since early-March, when the refiner reduced operations due to poor ethylene margins.

The refiner has another No.2 naphtha cracker, with a capacity of 640,000 tpy, running at full rates. (Reporting by Chua Baizhen; Editing Ramthan Hussain)