Refining
Chevron has a 50 percent interest in our South Korean affiliate GS Caltex Corp. The GS Caltex refinery complex in Yeosu is the largest in the Chevron system. The facility is the world's third largest, capable of processing 775,000 barrels per day of crude oil. The company's share of the refinery's capacity is more than 387,000 barrels per day.
In the past several years, the company has significantly improved the refinery's flexibility, reliability and capability to process lower-cost crude oil. GS Caltex's $1.5 billion heavy oil upgrade project, which included the world's largest vacuum distillation unit, began production in 2007. The hydrocracker and base oil plant greatly extended the refinery's ability to produce transportation fuels and lubricants that meet national and regional clean-fuel regulations, such as ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels.
In 2010 the first stage of another $3 billion upgrade was completed when a 60,000-barrel-per-day heavy oil residuum hydrocracker reached full production. Residuum is a tar-like substance left after crude oil has been refined. The unit is designed to reduce feedstock costs and increase product yield. The refinery's new 53,000-barrel-per-day heavy oil fluid catalytic cracking unit began operations in March.
Chemicals
GS Caltex is one of the world's leading manufacturers of petrochemicals, especially aromatics.
GS Caltex's petrochemical production capacity stands at:
- 2.8 million tons of aromatics, including benzene, toluene and xylene. These are base chemicals used to produce a range of products, including adhesives, plastics and textile fibers.
- 180,000 tons of polypropylene, which is used to make food packaging, laboratory equipment, textiles and more.
Our Chevron Oronite subsidiary supplies fuel and lubricant additives to Korean companies.
Chevron is involved in a chemical facility in South Korea through our joint venture Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem) and its affiliates.
CPChem has a 60 percent interest in K.R. Copolymers Company Co., Ltd., a joint venture that produces K-Resin® SBC. This styrene-butadiene copolymer, characterized by its clarity and shatter resistance, is used in medical devices, toys and hangers, among other things.
Marketing and Retail
GS Caltex has maintained its strong position with South Korean motorists for more than 40 years.
The joint venture operates 3,477 service and filling stations and has a 28 percent share of the nation's fuel business.
GS Caltex pioneered the convenience retail business in Korea. In the mid-1990s, it launched the JoyMart™ convenience store chain and the AutoOasis™ network of automobile maintenance facilities, both the first of their kind in the nation.
Updated: April 2013
Cautionary Statement