This is a chemical plant located in southern Spain.

A South Korean company invested to acquire a 70% stake and has been operating it since 2014.

It produces base oil, which is used in high-end automotive lubricants. With an annual production capacity reaching 1 million tons, it is the world's largest high-end base oil plant.

Once raw petroleum is fed into this plant, it passes through these intricately installed pipelines for 12 hours, transforming into base oil.

Recently, however, new customers have been turning their attention to this plant.

The reason is none other than the Middle East war. Originally, Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar and Bahrain accounted for more than 30% of global consumption in the base oil market.

However, after the outbreak of the war involving Iran, major production hubs in the Middle East suffered severe blows, and the production of high-end base oil that competes with South Korean companies has dropped by nearly 30% compared to before the war.

Even if the war stops immediately, it is projected to take over a year for full recovery, meaning the supply shortage rate is expected to exceed 10% next year.

As a result, spot prices have more than doubled compared to last January.

In particular, as the war involving Iran prolongs and recent clashes between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels have led to attacks on major oil facilities such as Aramco in Saudi Arabia, signs of structural changes are even being detected in the global supply chain of petroleum products based in the Middle East.

This means that inquiries for long-term contracts are pouring in for the South Korean joint venture in Spain, which receives raw materials from Africa and elsewhere outside the Middle East, in search of a stable supply source free from the threats of war.

[Moon Pil-gyu / Head of SK Enmove European Subsidiary: Following the recent Middle East crisis, customers have begun to place more weight on supply stability, and we are currently rediscuting long-term safety supply contracts for the next 3 to 5 years with various customers.]

Demand leaving the Middle East market is shifting toward South Korean companies not only in base oil, but also in other petroleum product markets such as aviation fuel and diesel, as the prolonged Middle East war leads to major shifts in the global supply chain market as well.

(Video editing: Park Choon-bae)