ULSAN < invest Korea

Ulsan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) last Wednesday to become an oil hub of Northeast Asia.

Those present at the signing ceremony included Bak Maeng-woo Mayor of Ulsan, Brian Crotty, CEO of OPIS, Ha Dong-won, President of the Ulsan Development Institute (UDI), Jeong Mu-young, Vice President for Academic Affairs of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Park Jong-rok, President of the Ulsan Port Authority (UPA), and representatives of the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC).

Under the MOU, both parties will discover and implement projects that help transform the city into an oil hub; assess and provide the price of crude oil and oil products; promote Ulsan through investor relations activities; and collaborate in matters related to mutual profits and development.

OPIS is the world's most comprehensive source for petroleum pricing and news information. It was found in 1997 and is located in Gaithersburg, MD. In 1980, OPIS pioneered a "rack" price discovery for thousands of wholesalers. In 1981, it began providing spot price assessments for all refined products. Today, OPIS spot gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are highly benchmarked in the West Coast of the U.S. and other key markets.

“Ulsan is equipped with petrochemical infrastructure and the Ulsan Port, one of the world’s four largest liquid product distribution bases, and has great potential to become an oil hub of Northeast Asia,” said Mayor Bak. “The MOU is expected to establish a foundation to provide credible oil price information and boost petroleum trading activities.”

Transforming Ulsan into an oil hub of Northeast Asia is a large-scale national project involving the construction of port facilities and oil storage plants for 28.4 million barrels in the northern and southern parts of the city with an investment of KRW 1.6397 trillion.

Source: Newsis (Mar. 27, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.