Creditors Raise Yeochun NCC Letter of Credit Limit to $300 Million for Naphtha Imports

Creditors of Yeochun NCC, a major producer of ethylene products in South Korea, decided to raise the upper limit of the company's letter of credit to $300 million to help secure naphtha supplies, the Financial Services Commission said on May 7, 2026.

According to the regulator, Yeochun NCC asked its main creditor, Korea Development Bank, last month to increase the L/C limit. The Financial Services Commission also reported that the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. will provide $50 million worth of import insurance to support the purchases.

The country has been working to secure naphtha, a key industrial feedstock for the petrochemical sector and other industries, by identifying alternative supplies following disruptions from the Iran conflict.

Late last month, the industry ministry said South Korea is expected to secure up to 90 percent of pre-Iran-war naphtha supplies for May. In April, the government announced it would inject 670 billion won, equivalent to $457 million, to cover up to 50 percent of the price difference between pre-war levels and higher import costs for naphtha during the April-June period.

The support is intended to stabilize supplies of the material. South Korea has also secured 2.1 million tons of naphtha from four Middle Eastern countries, including Oman and Saudi Arabia, for delivery by the end of this year. That volume equals about one month's supply based on last year's demand.

A naphtha cracking facility at the company's site in Yeosu, 310 kilometers south of Seoul, was shown in a photo taken on April 1, 2026.