South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp. (LCC) has begun commercial operations at subsidiary PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia’s (LCI) long-planned new petrochemical complex in Banten Province, Indonesia, marking startup of the country’s first naphtha-based cracker for production of olefins.
Officially inaugurated in a Nov. 6 ceremony, commissioning of the Lotte Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene (LINE) complex marks a major milestone in Southeast Asia’s olefins and derivatives landscape, as well as underscores the company’s strategic push into higher-growth markets and integrated downstream operations, Lotte said on Nov. 7.
Started for construction in 2022 across a 110-hectare site in Cilegon, the LINE cracker project achieved mechanical completion of major units in May 2025, with commercial production technically initiated during October 2025, the operator confirmed.
Most recently estimated at an overall cost of $3.9 billion, Lotte said LCI’s new complex—upon reaching full nameplate capacities sometime in 2026—will be equipped to produce:
- Ethylene; 1 million tonnes/year (tpy).
- Propylene; 520,000 tpy.
- Polypropylene; 350,000 tpy.
- Butadiene; 140,000 tpy.
- Benzene-toluene-xylene (BTX); 400,000 tpy.
Designed to help fill the gap in Indonesia’s self-sufficiency rate for petrochemical feedstocks—which at yearend 2024 stood at only 44% for ethylene—LCI’s complex, once at full production rates, will increase the country’s self-sufficiency rate for ethylene feedstock to about 90% to reduce import requirements, Lotte said.
Connected directly to fellow Lotte subsidiary Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara’s (LCTN) existing chemical operations in Merak, Cilegon, that produces 450,000 tpy of polyethylene from imported ethylene volumes, Lotte said the LINE complex’s ethylene production will replace LCTN’s current need for those imports, which in turn will slash Lotte’s associated logistics and feedstock costs, as well as support improved overall competitiveness and integration of the company’s downstream business.
With feedstock flexibility and carbon-reduction performance measures built into the LINE complex’s design, the new naphtha cracker will be able to input up to 50% LPG as feedstock, offering further opportunities to cut operating costs while increasing operational efficiency advantages, Lotte said.
Lotte also confirmed LCI’s implementation of smart process technology at the new LINE project to enable digital integration and management of operating data and 3D modeling of the complex’s units, which Lotte anticipates will enhance preventive maintenance and increase productivity at the site.
