Hyundai Oilbank completes 2nd BTX plant

Hyundai Oilbank CEO Kwon Oh-gap (second from left) poses with Cosmo Oil chairman Yaichi Kimura (third from left), Cosmo Oil president Keizo Morikawa (left) and Hyundai-Cosmo CEO Kiriyama Hiroshi in front of the newly-launched second BTX plant in Daesan, South Chungcheong Province, on Wednesday. (Hyundai Oilbank)

Hyundai Oilbank, the nation’s fourth-largest oil refiner, started operations of its second BTX plant, in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday, the company said. BTX is a composite mix of benzene, toluene and xylene.

The company completed the plant construction with its Japanese partner Cosmo Oil. Back in 2008, the two companies created a strategic alliance to cooperate in various areas, including the BTX business. The two companies completed the first BTX production facilities last year.

The second plant will produce 1 million tons of BTX annually, raising the refinery’s capacity to 1.5 million tons, the company said.

Hyundai Oilbank will be able to annually export BTX worth about 1 trillion won to Taiwan and China, the company added. 

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)