GS Caltex CEO Named
Chairman of Korean-
Omani Friendship Assoc.

Pledges to further bilateral ties between the two countries

Hur Dong-soo, chairman and CEO of GS Caltex, the nation's second largest oil refiner, has been selected as the chairman of the Korean-Omani Friendship Association.
Hur was selected as chairman of the association on Nov. 12 at a ceremony to inaugurate the committee at the Seoul Coex InterContinental Hotel. Ten figures from the Korean side, including Hur, as well as Ambassador Moosa Hamdan Al Taee of the Sultanate of Oman and nine other ambassadors to Korea hailing from the Middle East and North Africa were present.
The establishment of the committee was designed to build up Korea's standing on the global petroleum market as well as a strategically cooperative regime with the oil exporting country in order to secure a stable supply of crude oil and gas. Korea is Oman's second largest gas importer.
Lee Byung-ho, executive vice president of Korea Gas Corp. and former Korean ambassadors to Oman Park Shin-ung and Lee Sang-min were also selected as committee board members.
The committee plans to carry out diverse personnel exchanges and economic cooperation projects between the two countries, committee officials said. They added that the committee will help Korea strengthen its strategic alliance with the Middle Eastern oil exporter to further ensure a stable supply of crude oil and gas and facilitate Korean firms'entry into the Middle East and African countries.
In his acceptance speech Hur said, "I expect Korea and Oman to upgrade their existing close relationship into a truly cooperative partnership for the co-prosperity of the two countries, and I will do my utmost to build up the practical foundation for furthering cooperative ties between the two countries."GS Caltex Exports Its First Shipment of Lube Base Oil Produces lube base oil at the recently dedicated heavy oil upgrade facility
GS Caltex has made its first overseas shipment of lube base oil, a major raw material for producing lubricant products, to the Middle East.
GS Caltex said on Nov. 14 it exported the high-quality lube base oil product, Kixx LUBO GROUPII 600N to the Middle East for the first time. From the second GS Caltex pier, 9,000 tons of lube base oil were loaded for delivery - 7,000 tons to Saudi Arabia and the remaining 2,000 tons to the United Arab Emirates.
Lube base oil accounts for more than 80 percent of the raw materials needed for producing lubricant products. It is mixed with various additives according to the final product.
Following the shipment of lube base oil to the Middle East, GS Caltex plans to export the product to China within this year, officials said. About 70 percent of its lube base oil production, excluding its own consumption and domestic demand, will be exported to overseas markets, they said.
The overseas shipment of lube base oil was possible due to the heavy oil upgrade (HOU) facility dedicated at GS Caltex's Yeosu plant in late October.
GS Caltex was a latecomer to the lube base oil business, compared to rivals SK Energy and S-Oil. The nation's second largest oil refiner had previously purchased lube base oil locally or abroad in order to produce lubricant products. With the inauguration of the lube base oil plant with a daily capacity of 16,000 barrels, GS Caltex has established a lube base oil procurement system.
GS Caltex said the overseas shipment of lube base oil was the world's top quality with high viscosity and excellent cold-flow properties. nw

GS Caltex Chairman-CEO Hur Dong-soo has been selected as the chairman of the Korean-Omani Friendship Association.