Korea Petroleum Management Service Operates Petroleum Safety Situation Team... Rapid 'Water Contamination' Testing Upon Flood Damage Reports

The Korea Petroleum Management Service announced on the 10th that it will operate the 'Petroleum Safety Situation Room' until August to prevent safety accidents and damages to gas station operators and consumers caused by the distribution of petroleum products contaminated with moisture during the heavy rainfall period.

The Petroleum Safety Situation Room is jointly operated by the Petroleum Management Service, Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, NongHyup, four refiners (SK Energy, HD Hyundai Oilbank, GS Caltex, S-OIL), and related associations (Korea Petroleum Distribution Association, Korea Gas Station Association, Korea Petroleum Retailers Association).

Exterior view of the Korea Petroleum Management Service headquarters.

The Petroleum Management Service has established dedicated teams in 10 regional headquarters nationwide to promptly inspect and prevent the sale of petroleum products contaminated with moisture upon receiving consumer damage reports caused by heavy rainfall, aiming to block the spread of consumer damages.

Additionally, through the Petroleum Safety Situation Room hotline, real-time sharing of flood trends and other information is conducted, and refiners support gas stations to quickly normalize their operations.

In particular, for preventive measures, the Petroleum Management Service analyzes the level of moisture contamination in storage tanks at gas stations located in habitual flood zones such as special disaster areas and provides on-site mentoring to inform them about quality management methods.

During last year’s heavy rainfall period, the Petroleum Management Service promptly responded to 80 consumer reports and conducted quality management consulting for 1,263 companies, inspecting a total of 1,520 companies. Among them, 26 companies were found to have moisture contamination in their storage tanks and were promptly instructed to replace the products, successfully preventing damages in advance.

Cha Dong-hyung, Chairman of the Petroleum Management Service, said, "The activities of the Petroleum Safety Situation Room, which has been operating since last year, have proven to be very helpful not only in protecting consumers but also for business operators. We will continue to strengthen win-win cooperation between the government and the petroleum industry to establish a sound petroleum distribution order culture."

Meanwhile, as part of the 'Let’s Create Together. Safe Petroleum Life' campaign jointly conducted by the Petroleum Management Service and the petroleum industry since June this year, public awareness campaigns on management guidelines for petroleum facilities during heavy rainfall, measures to take in case of moisture contamination, and precautions will be carried out through the website and social networking services (SNS).