S-Oil suspends operations at No. 2 PX plant due to fire

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s oil refining company S-Oil Corp. announced on Monday that it will temporarily suspend operations at the No. 2 paraxylene (PX) processing at its Onsan plant due to a fire that occurred on Sunday.

According to S-Oil, the annual revenue from the suspended No. 2 paraxylene processing totaled 2.52 trillion won ($1.82 billion) last year, accounting for 7.1 percent of the company’s entire revenue.

The actual loss in revenue will be determined later, depending on the duration of the shutdown, the company said.

The suspension will inevitably lead to a decrease in the production of paraxylene and other products.

Paraxylene is a high-value petrochemical product used as a raw material for polyester, which is used in fabrics, including fast fashion clothing, and PET bottles.

S-Oil operates two paraxylene plants at its Onsan complex in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, with the No. 2 plant having an annual production capacity of approximately 1.05 million tons.

“We are investigating the situation and will promptly restart the plant based on the investigation results to minimize production and supply disruptions,” said a company official. “We also plan to minimize revenue losses during the shutdown period by selling intermediate raw materials externally.”

The fire erupted at 4:47 a.m. on Sunday and was completely extinguished after five hours without casualties.