---

South Korean bunker supplier and oil refiner GS Caltex Corp. has said that it plans to officially commence carrying out deliveries of 500-centistoke (cst) marine fuel next week, Platts reports.

The new addition to its line of fuel grades will be produced at the company's 775,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery at Yeosu, located in the south of the country. Deliveries of 500-cst bunker fuel will be made at both the ports of Yeosu and Busan.

According to industry sources, GS Caltex sold its first cargo of 500-cst on Wednesday, May 8. The supplier is said to have planned to start shipments of the fuel grade on May 1, but was delayed as it took more time than expected to prepare for the supply of the product.

The nation's first company to begin selling 500-cst fuel was SK Energy at the start of April. The fuel grade is typically around $6-8 per tonne cheaper than 380-cst product in South Korea.

The size of the South Korean bunker market is estimated to be in the region of 14 million metric tonnes per year with Busan taking around 8 million tonnes.

The market is currently dominated by its leading refiners SK Energy Co. Ltd., GS Caltex Corp., SK Incheon Oil Refinery Co. Ltd., S-Oil Corporation and Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd.

South Korea has five refineries with a total refining capacity of approximately 2.55 million barrels per day. GS Caltex's Yeosu Refinery is the second-biggest in the country, whilst the largest is SK Energy's 850,000 bpd Ulsan Refinery.