SK Energy Wins the $15 Bln Export Tower Award

Joins Club of 20 Tln Won in Yearly Sales

SK Energy, the nation's largest refinery, grabbed the $15 billion Export Tower Award from the government as it exported $15.58 billion worth of oil products during the period between July 2007 and June 2008.
Amid the uncertainties facing Korea's major exporters, SK Energy renewed its quarterly record in the third quarter of 2008 to join a club of posting a yearly combined 20 trillion won in sales.
SK Energy was praised for ensuring a stable supply of petroleum products in Korean and ramping up its presence in the global market by expanding its exports to abroad.
For a nation with the production of no drop of crude oil, petroleum products topped the list of exports the nation delivered abroad in the first six months of this year. SK Energy exported approximately 11 trillion won worth of petroleum products during the period.
SK Energy's portion of petroleum exports out of its total sales were less than 30 percent in 2003, but the figure climbed up to 45 percent in 2004 and 52 percent in 2007.
The refinery's impressive export achievements were owed to an expanded investment into upgrading refining facilities, dubbed "The Oil Field of the Earth," designed to produce valued-added exports. This resulted in boosting the portion of valued added exports, including gasoline, kerosene and diesel for qualitative growth.
This past June, SK Energy inaugurated a residue fluid catalytic cracking unit (RFCC) with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day designed to refine heavy oil cheaper than crude oil into value-added products to build up a solid export foundation.
A hydrocracker plant scheduled to be completed by 2011 will be capable of refining 60,000 barrels of heavy oil into kerosene and diesel per day, thus contributing to solidifying an export foundation.
SK Energy is striving to diversify exporting areas. In the past, its major exporting areas included Korea's neighboring countries, including Japan and China. But in 2007, Indonesia and the United States ranked first and second in terms of exporting amounts and value. The company is trying to expand exports to Vietnam and the European market. It is striving to establish exporting bridgeheads in Southeast Asia to boost exports in the whole of Asia. nw

President Lee gives the $15 billion Export Award to SK Energy Vice Chairman Shin Heun-chul during the Trade Day ceremony.