Saudi Aramco announced on 17 December the completion of a purchase of a 17% stake in Korea’s Hyundai Oilbank, operator of the 650,000 b/d Daesan refinery south of Seoul, from Hyundai Heavy Industries for $1.2bn. The plant has capacity to process 520,000 b/d of crude and 130,000 b/d of condensate. When the agreement was signed in April, Aramco said the deal will support its “crude oil placement strategy by providing a dedicated outlet for Arabian crude” (MEES, 19 April).
Oilbank’s 2018 annual report says that Aramco was the refinery’s fifth largest crude oil supplier, delivering 15.481mn barrels (42,400 b/d) or 9.8% of its total crude requirement. Kuwait was Oilbank’s leading supplier, with 39.486mn barrels (108,200 b/d) or 25.0% of the 2018 total. (CONTINUED - 224 WORDS)
