Hyundai Oilbank holds a dedication ceremony for its second 

BTX plant in the Daesan Oil Refinery Complex in Daesan, South 

Chungcheong Province on April 3 with top executives including President 

Kwon Oh-gap, and Chairman Kimura Aichi of Cosmo Oil of Japan, the 

joint-venture partner of the petrochemical plant, present at the event.

Hyundai Oilbank has put on stream its second BTX plant at its Daesan Refinery Complex in Daesan, South Chungcheong Province, on April 3 in a ceremony with a score of dignitaries attending, led by Hyundai Oilbank President Kwon Oh-gap and a number of top executives of Cosmo Oil of Japan, the joint venture partner, including Chairman Kimura Aichi.

President Kwon said the second BTX plant, the first j.v. project with Cosmo Oil of Japan, is sure to boost the profits of Hyundai Oilbank, which has been heavily dependent on the oil refining side of the business.

He said the company was able to cut the construction period to 21 months, including design, purchase of materials, completion of construction, and test-runs, a feat that will go down as the record for the shortest construction period for similar petrochemical plants in Korea, which usually takes 26 months.

The new petrochemical plant has an annual production capacity of 850,000 tons of paraxylene, 150,000 tons of benzene, and 100 tons of petrochemical products per year. The products are used in synthetic fibers, plastics, and additives for gasoline and basic raw materials for other products. Hyundai Oilbank’ s total petrochemical production capacity has been boosted to 1.5 million tons annually from just 500,000 tons with the new plant going on stream. The oil refinery’ s annual revenue from the sales of petrochemical products will be raised to 14 percent from 9 percent of total sales, correcting the oil refiner’ s heavy dependence on refined oil products.

The oil refiner plans to export the petrochemical products to China and Taiwan to earn 1 trillion won, as the outlook for exports are bright with the demand in China for paraxylene rising due to the expanded production facilities for terephtalic acid (TPA) in China.

President Kwon said the oil refinery has had a great leap in growth since its launch in 1964 as the first privately owned oil refinery in Korea, then known as Kukdong Oil Industrial Co., growing into one of the leading oil refining and marketing companies in Asia. Its domestic light oil market share stands at around 16 percent with a network of 2,200 service stations across Korea. 

Hyundai Oilbank first entered the oil refining market in 1993 when it acquired Kukdong Oil and became a market contender when it successfully got a $500 million investment from IPIC of the United Arab Emirates in 1999.

The oil refiner’ s goal is to be number one among its competitors in terms of product quality and customer service. The oil refinery also produces petrochemical products for sale in domestic and international markets. To meet the diverse demands of customers in the 21st Century, Hyundai Oilbank makes every effort to provide customer oriented services. 

The oil refiner employs cutting-edge facilities including an ultra-low sulfur diesel and clean fuel plant, in line with the principle of ensuring environmental protection by minimizing pollutant emissions.

This will also secure the necessary product quality competitiveness following the opening of the petroleum market. Moreover, various environmental protection activities such as the 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) Campaign, the fry stock project, the installation of underground water monitoring systems, and numerous voluntary agreements are taking place at the production sites.

The company has strived to proactively respond to changes in the energy environment amid the growing instability of the international petroleum market. It has placed great emphasis on management innovation and ethical management so as to enhance business transparency and public trust.