GS Caltex Finalizes Plan
to Construct No.3 HOU

Becomes the first company in the refinery and petrochemical industry to be fitted with the Dual Feeding System of power transmission lines

GS Caltex has decided to construct the No.3 Heavy Oil Upgrade (HOU) with a daily capacity of 113,000 tons by investing a total of 2.94 trillion won by 2010. The investment figure represents the largest single investment in all of the refinery industry.
In June, GS Caltex will begin the construction of the third HOU facility, to be built at the site of GS Caltex's second Yeosu plant. It was in 2007 that the refinery launched the design of a master plan for the construction of the additional HOU facility and conducted relevant work including orders for equipment.
The projected HOU facility will be composed of a vacuum-rerun hydro-cracker (VR HCR) facility with a daily capacity of 60,000 barrels and a vacuum gas oil fluid catalytic cracker (VGO FCC) facility with a daily capacity of 53,000 barrels. The additional HOU facility is expected to result in a 900 billion won a year revenue increase.
The company spent 1.5 trillion won for the construction of the second HOU,
which was completed in August 2007. The third HOU will produce 113,000 barrels of products per day, the largest among the domestic producers. The company will be able to produce 266,000 barrels a day once the third HOU begins operation. Additionally, the firm will see the ratio of facility sophistication rise to 39.1 percent, surpassing the 25.5 percent for S-Oil.
The company plans to begin construction on the new facility next month, which will be located in Yeosu on 615,000 square meters of land at the site of the second factory. The third HOU has been designed to cope with stricter environmental regulations and prepare for the rapid rise in demand for light oil. The firm expects to see profits improve, as it will be able to export 900 billion won worth of products annually.
FIRST COMPANY IN THE INDUSTRY TO BE EQUIPPED WITH DUAL FEEDING SYSTEM OF POWER LINES
GS Caltex said it has completed a project to install the Dual Feeding System of power transmission lines at its Yeosu plant, becoming the industry's first company to be equipped with such a facility in a move to prevent power outages. The project broke ground in March 2007 and cost 10 billion won. It involved the construction of the 154kV-class Dual Feeding System on the section between the Yeosu No. 1 plant and the Yeosu Thermal Power Complex of Korea Southern Power Co.
A few businesses, including Hynix and POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, have been fitted with such a facility, but the GS Caltex's No. 2 HOU plant became the first one in the refinery and petrochemical industry to be equipped with the Dual Feeding System.
INAUGURAL SESSION OF ENERGY FORUM
The National Academy of Engineering of Korea inaugurated the Energy Forum, designed to deal with such energy issues as crude oil price hikes and climate change, at the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul on June 24.
Under the theme, "The Current Status and Tasks of an Era of High Crude Oil Prices,"the inaugural meeting and the First Energy Forum were held with about 100 representatives from every walk of life participating.
In a commemorative speech, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said it was very significant for leaders from every community to discuss such energy issues as crude oil price hikes and climate change that have emerged as the greatest problems on Earth. The government needs to not only solve immediate difficulties, caused by crude oil price hikes, but also should seize it as an opportunity to deal with energy issues from a fundamental perspective, he noted.
GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo proposed the theme of the forum, "Challenges on Energy,"and spoke about the current status of the Korean petroleum industry, the causes of the current crude oil price hikes and future prospects and proposed such policy suggestions as ways of raising energy efficiency, stabilizing energy supplies and diversifying energy sources.
Panelists, including Bang Ki-yual, president of the Korea Energy Economics Institute, Prof. Sohn Yang-hoon of Incheon University, Park U-kyu, president of SK Economic Research Institute, discussed the current status and prospects of the global energy market, and its impact on the Korean economy.
Prof. Sohn Jae-ik of Seoul National University of Technology said the Energy Forum will have a monthly meeting as a channel for experts and opinion leaders to have in-depth discussions and present policy suggestions on a continuous basis. nw

(right) GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo and GS Caltex's Yeosu plant