Hyundai Oilbank to vote on BTX plant

Hyundai Oilbank Corp., Korea`s fourth-largest oil refiner, said Monday its shareholders will vote this week on a plan to build a petrochemical plant in the western area of the country, according to Yonhap News.

In June, Hyundai Oilbank and Japanese oil refiner Cosmo Oil Co. signed a $1.2 billion deal to build a BTX plant in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of Seoul, by April 2013. BTX is a composite mix of benzene, toluene and xylene.

"Work on the plant will be launched if shareholders of Hyundai Oilbank approve the plan on Tuesday," said Kim Sung-young, a spokesman at the Korean refiner.

In April 2008, the two companies set up a strategic alliance to cooperate in various areas inside China and the United States, with Cosmo Oil passing its expertise in heavy-oil refining technology on to Hyundai Oilbank.