'Total Energy Service
Leader in Asia'

GS Caltex Chairman Hur renews calls to be a leader in Asia by 2011

Marking the 40th anniversary on May 19, GS Caltex has declared a goal of becoming the total energy service leader with the industry's highest profits in Asia by 2011.
In his commemorative speech during the anniversary ceremony, GS Caltex Chairman & CEO Hur Dong-soo extended a warm-hearted gratitude to his officers and staff members, customers, shareholders and business partners for making concerted efforts to make GS Caltex what it is today. GS Caltex Chairman Hur said, "Let's make our way by making a bright future with a sense of pride and responsibility in order to become a total energy service leader with the industry's highest profits in Asia by 2011."
About 1,100 GS Caltex employees, including GS Caltex Chairman Hur, participated in a ceremony marking the anniversary at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and pledged to march toward its development in the future.
GS CALTEX's ON A ROLL. GS Caltex got off as the nation's first private company, named Honam Refinery in 1967, contributing to the nation's economic development.
The company has made tremendous strides so far. Its daily refinery capacity seeing a 12-fold surge from 60,000 barrels to 722,500 barrels; the number of gas stations is surged from 72 to 3,600; and annual sales skyrocketing more than 1,600 times from 11.4 billion won to 19.13 trillion won.
Take a look into GS Caltex's development chronology.
AN EXPORTING LEADER. GS Caltex was recognized as a petroleum chemical exporter as it turned to importing and processing crude oil in the early 1980s when the nation was buffeted by the 2nd Oil Crisis. The refinery chalked up 19.13 trillion won in sales last year, and 9,525.7 billion won, almost half of sales, came from exporting petroleum products. The sales, made through exporting petroleum products, represented a 21.2 percent surge from 7,856.8 billion won in 2005, showing the fact that GS Caltex is not just an energy supplier for the domestic market. The sales can translate into $10,027 million, equivalent to the amount made from exporting about 900,000 automobiles.
GS Caltex is expected to see the portion of value-added petroleum exports further rising as it is putting more energy into making investments into upgrading facilities with a record investment of 1.5 trillion won in an effort to raise its supply capacity of light sweet crude products whose global demand is on the rise, like the construction of base oil production plant and the completion of the second Heavy Oil Upgrade (HOU) by the end of this year. The refinery is also working on the third HOU project, including the design and placing orders on major equipment.
In a bid to secure a global competitive edge, the company will increase the annual capacity of aromatic compound production from current 2.2 million tons to 2.8 million tons by the end of this year while planning to inaugurate the No. 4 Diesel HDS (hydro treating) plant at an investment of 34 million won by March 2009.
GS Caltex, which has already increased global competitiveness through continuous process improvements and introduction of new technologies plans to raise the capacity of aromatic compounds, including Para-Xylene, benzene, toluene and mixed Xylene in a bid to step up its presence in the petrochemical industry.
EXPLORATION OF NEW GROWTH ENGINES. GS Caltex is striving to strengthen R&D activities in a selection of new and renewable energy fields to take the lead in the development of next-generation energy resources. To this end, it plans to set up a new energy research center responsible for research related to new and renewable energy resources, including household fuel cell, hydrogen station, and super-capacity allotropes of carbon.
GS Caltex is aggressively participating in overseas petroleum exploration projects to secure long-term profits through energy self-sufficiency and a stable supply of crude oil. It has made feats in striking crude oil and natural gas reserves through the acquisition of stakes in maritime blocks in Cambodia in 2003 and overland mining block in Thailand in 2006.
GS Caltex is making all-out efforts to promote business collaboration with domestic and foreign concerns. It is teaming up with its holding company GS Holdings to focus on synergetic gains by exploring overseas petroleum blocks while securing core manpower necessary for the implementation of overseas petroleum exploration projects.
GS Caltex participates in projects designed to ensure a stable supply of electricity to customers and district heating. It is also planning to play a pivotal role in the domestic liquefied natural gas market by partaking in the wholesale market of LNG.
SPEARHEADING CHANGES AND INNOVATIONS. In 1993, GS Caltex introduced a junior board system designed to help facilitate communications with executives and other officers and transfer opinions from lower echelons to higher ones. The company put into a practice an across-the-board team system in 1994 in a bid to redouble organizational efficiency by getting operations slimmer and sharply reducing decision-making stages.
In 1995, GS Caltex introduced a brand concept in releasing petroleum products for protecting car engines in Korea, while having been driving the Six-Sigma innovative system after it became the first refinery company to undertake the initiative.
In 2000, GS Calex set its sights on becoming an integrated energy service leader. It has been striving to become the best individuals and organization by put into action organizational values - trust, flexibility, challenge and excellence.
FULLY-FLEDGED OVERSEAS ENTRY. In September 2003, GS Caltex made a feat of acquiring operation expertise and management know-how rights on a Sohar refinery plant in Oman by outbidding 10 powerhouses across the world. The project calls for GS Caltex to offer know-how ranging from refinery operations, maintenance, education and IT to management innovation methods. The value of the project is worth $50 million, the largest one a Korean refinery company has landed.
GS Caltex is going into high gear in its attempt to enter the Chinese market. In February 2006, it established a locally incorporated company, GS Caltex Qingdao Petroleum Ltd. devoted to selling petroleum products and establishing and operation gas stations in China. GS Caltex fortified its presence in China by acquiring a polypropylene plant in Hebei in June 2006. In a related development, GS Caltex is accelerating its entry in the Chinese gas station market by opening an AutoOasis, a gas station that also has a small car maintenance shop in Qingdao. nw

(left photo) GS Caltex Chairman & CEO Hur Dong-soo and GS Caltex head office, GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul.

GS Caltex's Yeosu plant.