S-Oil Activates Emergency Response System for Fire at Ulsan Onsan Plant

Fire on the Morning of the 28th... Fully Extinguished After 5 Hours
Cause of Fire and Damage Scale Under Investigation

S-OIL activated its emergency response system following a large fire at its Ulsan Onsan Plant on the 28th, and has begun efforts to manage the incident and devise countermeasures.

According to industry sources, the fire that broke out around 4:47 a.m. at S-OIL's Onsan Plant in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, was completely extinguished after five hours. The fire reportedly involved an explosion with flames shooting up, and a large amount of smoke spreading in a long band shape, which led to related reports being filed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The fire occurred at S-OIL's 2nd Paraxylene (PX) plant. S-OIL operates both the 1st and 2nd Paraxylene plants within the Onsan Plant. Paraxylene is a petrochemical product with high added value, used as a raw material for polyester and PET bottles, including fast fashion clothing fabrics. The annual production capacity of the 2nd plant, where the fire occurred, is approximately 1.05 million tons.

The fire is presumed to have started in a heating device (heater) used in the process of producing paraxylene. S-OIL is working with fire authorities to determine the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage. Additionally, measures to minimize the impact of production suspension are reportedly being considered.

Earlier this year in February, a fire caused by pipe damage occurred at S-OIL's Ulsan plant and was extinguished within three hours. Previously, in May 2022, an explosion and fire accident occurred in the alkylation process (an alkylate extraction process that uses butane to increase gasoline octane rating), resulting in the death of one subcontractor worker and injuries to nine workers from both primary and subcontractors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.