[Sponsored Report] Sharp investments help GS Caltex’s exports up

An oil tanker operated by GS Caltex heads to sea carrying oil for export. The company’s exports accounts for two-thirds of its total sales.[GS CALTEX]

Since its establishment as the nation’s first private oil corporation in May 1967, GS Caltex has been supplying a third of domestic petroleum energy through its globally competitive oil production facilities.

The company has also entered the global market, and its exports account for two-thirds of its total sales.

Notably, the percentage of GS Caltex’s total sales that come from exports has gradually increased since it surpassed 50 percent in 2006. It hit 67 percent in 2012, 68.2 percent in 2013, 66.3 percent in 2014 and 69% in 2015.

In 2002, it was 26 percent.

This increase is the result of GS Caltex’s investment in the installation of advanced facilities at the right time.

One example of this is the GS Caltex Yeosu Complex. Established in 1969, it has kept up with the world’s changing oil market for the last 50 years by constantly investing in its facilities. Its oil producing capabilities have now grown to refine 785,000 barrels of petroleum and desulfurize 272,000 barrels of kerosene and diesel daily while keeping quality high.

As the world has become more aware of environmental issues, GS Caltex has expanded its Heavy Oil Upgrading (HOU) facilities, increasing the output of eco-friendly products and contributing to the national economy by exporting them overseas.

Starting with the construction of Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit in 1995, GS Caltex has invested over 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) since 2004 to establish facilities with advanced technology such as a hydrocracker in 2007, vacuum residue hydrocracker in 2010, and vacuum gas oil fluidized catalytic cracking unit in 2013, finalizing their plan to create a “perfect complex.”

As a result, GS Caltex now processes 274,000 barrels of oil a day, which is the largest amount of any oil company in Korea.

In addition, GS Caltex has established a foreign corporation in Singapore as well as local offices in London and Abu Dhabi to secure its export of high-quality petroleum overseas. The company is now introducing 80 varieties of crude oil to 30 countries across Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

GS Caltex is also currently exporting its petrochemical products mainly to China and other Asian countries. The company has been investing in the petrochemical industry to establish its competitiveness overseas. The company is now able to produce 1.35 million tons of paraxylene, which is the base material for polyester, 930,000 tons of benzene, which is the base material for synthetic resin, 170,000 tons of toluene and 350,000 tons of mixed xylene annually, which totals to 2.8 million tons of aromatic compounds a year.

Through constant investment in its infrastructures and production capacity, GS Caltex is heading towards its vision of being the “Value No. 1 Energy & Chemical Partner” in the global market.

BY YANG SE-YOUNG [yang.seyoung@joongang.co.kr]