Hancock in as Britain’s energy minister

Refineries in South Korea are gearing up to trim output in August on persistently weak margins and as some units are shut for maintenance.

South Korean refiners are among the first in the region to react to slow demand as they are a major exporter of petroleum products. The output cuts reinforce an unusually weak oil consumption outlook in Asia this summer.

South Korea has the fourth-largest refining capacity in Asia Pacific at 2.887 million barrels per day, according to BP Statistical Review 2014.

The country’s top two refiners, SK Energy and GS Caltex, will operate at 70-87 percent of their capacities in August, down about five percentage points from July. SK Energy has reduced the run rate at the smaller of its two refineries due to ongoing works to connect a new condensate splitter unit in Incheon.

S-Oil Corp, the country’s third largest refiner majority owned by Saudi Aramco, is operating at 95 percent but its operating rate could fall in August when its residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) is shut for planned maintenance later this month.