Hyundai Oilbank starts work on new heavy-oil plant

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Oilbank Corp., South Korea's fourth-largest
refiner, said Tuesday it has begun the construction of its second heavy-oil
processing plant to be completed by 2011.
The plant, which will process 52,000 barrels of heavy oil into transportation
fuel a day, will be built in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of
Seoul.
If completed, the company's heavy-oil processing capacity will be raised to
116,000 barrels a day from the current 64,000 barrels, increasing the proportion
of heavy oil processing units in its refining facilities to about 30 percent from
the current 17.4 percent.
The company can process 390,000 barrels of crude a day into gasoline and other
products.
Last October, Hyundai Oilbank raised 1.2 trillion won (US$900 million) via a
syndicated loan that was arranged by state-run Korea Development Bank and five
other lenders to build the plant.
The loan is payable in eight years with a four-year grace period.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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