Crude Oil Spill Contained at Oil Storage Terminal in Ulsan, South Korea

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Workers have contained an oil spill from a crude oil tank at an oil-storage terminal next to the Onsan Refinery in Ulsan, South Korea. The spill occurred on Friday, April 4.

The Onsan Refinery and the crude oil storage terminal are owned and operated by S-Oil Corporation (KRX:010950) (Seoul, South Korea). Ulsan is a port city about 255 miles (410 kilometers) from Seoul.

S-Oil is the third-largest refining company in South Korea. Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (AOC) (The Hague, Netherlands), a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), is the biggest shareholder of S-Oil, with a 35% stake.

On April 4, about 140,000 barrels of crude oil leaked from a hole that was caused by a broken blending mixer. The storage tank was storing 570,000 barrels. The tank is located near the No. 3 Wharf.

The crude oil terminal has 11 crude oil storage tanks and a storage capacity of 10 million barrels. The damaged crude tank has a storage capacity of 750,000 barrels.

Workers were moving crude oil from the tank to another nearby at the time of the accident. According to S-Oil, no oil has leaked into the sea.

S-Oil already has moved 380,000 barrels of crude oil from the damaged tank and had planned to complete the transfer of the remaining crude oil by Thursday.

When the transfer is completed, S-Oil, in co-operation with the local police and fire department, will investigate the cause of the accident. The investigation is estimated to take about 10 days, according to officials at S-Oil and the Ulsan Fire Department. S-Oil also said it will repair the damaged tank after the investigation is completed.

The incident is the third oil spill to have occurred in South Korea in the last five months. In January, GS Caltex Corporation (Seoul), the country's second-largest refining company, leaked 164,000 liters (1,030 barrels) of oil on South Korea's southern coast after a very large crude carrier (VLCC) hit three pipelines while preparing to berth.

In November 2013, a small amount of oil leaked in to the sea from a pipeline operated by SK Energy Company Limited (Seoul). SK Energy is owned by SK Innovation Company Limited (KRX:096770) (Seoul).

For related information, see February 19, 2014, article - South Korea's Yeosu Refinery Operations Back to Normal after Pipeline Leak.

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