● S-OIL completed and started the operation of an RHDS and a VCU.
● Its profitability is anticipated to pick up by 40 billion won per year on the production of high value-added ultra-low-sulfur products, etc.
S-OIL (CEO Hussain Al-Qahtani) is revving up ESG management by completing and kicking off the operation of eco-friendly facilities to cut emissions one by one.
The refiner started the operation of a Residue Hydro-DeSulfurization Unit (RHDS) on Mar. 20. In early March, it began to run a Vapor Combustion Unit (VCU). The company injected some 73 billion won into the expansion of the RHDS capacity and the construction of the VCU.
The RHDS is an eco-friendly facility that curbs emissions during the process of producing fuels by removing impurities from high-sulfur residue oil used as feedstock through catalytic hydrogenation processes in high-temperature, high-pressure reactors. The residue oil quantity desulfurized by the newly-built No. 1 RHDS has increased by 18% from 34,000 barrels to 40,000 barrels per day. Desulfurized residue oil turns into light fuels such as ultra-low sulfur diesel and naphtha by undergoing follow-up processes.
As the company’s addition of the desulfurization capacity will ramp up the production of high value-added marine fuel, it is expected to help S-OIL respond more swiftly to growing global demand, boosting its profitability. This, coupled with the improved efficiency and productivity of existing refining facilities, will raise the company’s profitability by 40 billion won per year.
The construction of the RHDS, which ran for 24 months from Apr. 2019 to Mar. this year, went smoothly without any COVID-19 infections or safety-related incidents. An official at S-OIL said, “We pushed forward with investment in the RHDS as part of our effort to meet growing demand for low-sulfur marine fuel amid IMO’s tightening sulfur rules and to further commit ourselves to ESG management.”
The VCU, which started operation at the beginning of this month earlier than the RHDS, is a green facility that prevents hazardous substances from being discharged into the air by capturing and completely combusting vapors emitted from storage tanks. Its construction commenced from Sept. 2020, emission devices mounted on 19 storage tanks, etc. were remodeled by the end of Feb. this year, and a 7km pipeline was installed and connected with them.
S-OIL’s ESG management drive through investment in green facilities, etc. is expected to further strengthen down the road. “We’re planning on the construction of a larger-capacity VCU to prevent the leakage of vapors from crude oil and fuel storage tanks at our Ulsan refinery,” said the official at the company.
