S-Oil's third quarter profit takes a dive

S-Oil, South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner, has posted a 54.4% year-on-year decline in third-quarter profit due to maintenance at its main facilities and weak refining margins, the company said on October 19. The company, however, expects profits to rise in the fourth quarter as refining margins recover and demand for petrochemical products continue to remain strong. S-Oil has long planned to build a new facility to meet demand for high-end, low-sulfur oil products such as gasoil and kerosene, but has put on hold the proposed US$3.8 billion new refinery due to the “excessive” financial burden of purchasing land. S-Oil is 35% owned by Aramco and receives all its crude oil from Saudi Arabia. (October 22, 2007)