South Korea’s Samsung Total supplies government-affiliated service stations

South Korean Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. began to supply gasoline to government-affiliated service stations in July and the company is expected to supply a total of 35,000 barrels per month to gasoline-affiliated service stations. The company’s supply only accounts for about 0.6% of South Korea’s monthly total gasoline demand of around 5.7 million barrels though the government intends to use petrochemical manufacturer Samsung Total’s entry into the market as a trigger to reduce gasoline prices.
The oil retail market has been dominated by the country’s top four oil refiners. The government has not yet assessed how the other existing service stations have been affected by Samsung Total’s deliveries to government-affiliated stations. The company recently announced that it plans to construct a 145,000 barrel-per-day condensate splitter at the Daesan petrochemical complex. The new plant is expected to be completed by the spring of 2014 and is aimed at substantially increasing gasoline supply, as well as adding diesel fuel to its production. (August 7, 2012)