Oil refining in South Korea: emitters, CO2 & carbon value

9 tracked facilities, ≈32,445,787 t CO2/yr combined — here are the largest, what that CO2 is worth at current prices, and the sector's reduction pathway. Full sector pathway: decarbonizing oil refining.

The numbers

Oil refining in South Korea at a glance

Metric	Value	Note
Facilities tracked	9	with CO2 estimates
Total est. CO2	32,445,787 t/yr	Climate TRACE 2023
Average per facility	3,605,087 t/yr
Indicative carbon value	€2,511M/yr	at €77.4/t EUA

Carbon pricing here: K-ETS since 2015 — covers ~73% of national emissions; KAU price has traded ≈€5–10 (2024–25, World Bank State & Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025 / ICAP 2025). Current benchmark: no liquid market price. Full country page: carbon price in South Korea.

Largest emitters

Top 9 oil refining CO2 emitters in South Korea

#	Facility	Owner	t CO2/yr (est. 2023)	Indicative value
1	GS-Caltex Yeosu Refinery	—	8,882,869	€687.5M
2	SK Ulsan Refinery	SK Inc	7,295,436	€564.7M
3	S-Oil Onsan Refinery	Saudi Arabian Oil Co	6,196,517	€479.6M
4	Hyundai Oilbank Daesan Refinery	Hyundai Oilbank Co Ltd	5,778,641	€447.3M
5	SK Incheon Oil Refinery	SK Inc	1,451,565	€112.4M
6	Hanwha Total Condensate Splitter	Hanwha Energy Corp	946,920	€73.3M
7	Hyundai Lotte Daesan Condensate Splitter	Hyundai Oilbank Co Ltd	895,888	€69.3M
8	SK Incheon Condensate Splitter	SK Inc	527,326	€40.8M
9	S-Oil Onsan Condensate Splitter	—	470,625	€36.4M

Climate TRACE satellite estimates via IndustryAtlas — modelled, not verified; some entries aggregate clusters. Corrections welcome.

⬇ This table (CSV)🖨 PDF for management

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Same industry, other countries

Oil refining in United States

186,505,868 t CO2/yr

Oil refining in China

178,383,452 t CO2/yr

Oil refining in India

70,283,893 t CO2/yr

Oil refining in Russian Federation

59,137,040 t CO2/yr

Oil refining in Saudi Arabia

33,605,972 t CO2/yr

Other industries in South Korea

Iron & steel in South Korea

81,601,450 t CO2/yr

Cement in South Korea

21,704,807 t CO2/yr

Petrochemicals (steam cracking) in South Korea

17,359,518 t CO2/yr

Textiles, leather & apparel in South Korea

250,648 t CO2/yr

FAQ

Questions

How many oil refining facilities does South Korea have with tracked emissions?

9 facilities carry satellite-based CO2 estimates in our dataset (Climate TRACE 2023), totalling ≈32,445,787 t CO2/yr.

What is the largest oil refining emitter in South Korea?

GS-Caltex Yeosu Refinery — ≈8,882,869 t CO2/yr (est. 2023). Estimates are modelled, not verified declarations.

What would this CO2 cost at the EU price?

≈€2,511M per year at €77.4/t — indicative full-price value; actual cost depends on free allocation and the local instrument.

How this page is built: heat-loss figures follow ASTM C680 / ISO 12241 (the method behind our public calculators); facility emissions from Climate TRACE & EU ETS verified data across 30,000+ industrial sites; the 2026–2034 schedule is Regulation (EU) 2023/956, not a forecast. Published by Inzonex — manufacturer of modular removable insulation (UK Patent GB2508992.1). Spotted an error? Tell us — we correct on evidence.