Article at a Glance

“GS Caltex” has been an uncommon early mover in digital transformation among large-scale process industries often described as heavy and complex, and its initiative officially began in 2019 with the launch of the DX Strategy Team, then accelerated from pilot efforts to companywide expansion in 2021 with the establishment of the DX Center. If the first phase of DX (2019~2023) focused on building a foundation by making field data and tacit knowledge measurable, standardized, and shareable, DAX from 2024 onward is the execution phase that connects accumulated production, equipment, safety, and sales data to operational contexts and uses AI for prediction, optimization, and automation to improve cost, quality, and safety indicators together. To support this, GS Caltex built the in-house AI platform AiU and provided training for all employees. The platform now shows visible results, including 2,713 monthly users and a cumulative 1,079 agents. AI agents designed directly by field experts are being applied immediately to on-site tasks such as safety, maintenance, and sales support, fostering a bottom-up style of innovation.

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Domestic refining and petrochemical companies have been navigating a prolonged downturn since 2024. Refining margins deteriorated in June 2024 as military tensions in the Middle East escalated, including the Iran–Israel conflict, and they have shown little sign of recovery even a year later. At the same time, the launch of new large refineries in China and the Middle East has intensified global supply competition. China continues to expand its refining and petrochemical facilities and increase output, while new refining powerhouses in the Middle East have completed successive large plants and begun full-scale operations, strengthening their presence. The refined product exports of OPEC+1 1A broader coalition of oil-producing countries that includes OPEC members and non-OPEC producers such as Russia. Since 2016, it has coordinated production cuts and played a role in stabilizing global oil prices. 닫기 oil-producing countries even reached an all-time high in 2024.

Meanwhile, demand has grown increasingly uncertain due to the combined impact of electric vehicle adoption, improvements in fuel efficiency, and broader economic fluctuations. Simply adjusting facility utilization rates is no longer enough to overcome current challenges. Companies are therefore attempting fundamental structural improvements, including enhancing facilities to increase production efficiency, shifting portfolios toward higher value-added products, and identifying new revenue sources. They are also focusing on dramatically improving plant operation efficiency by actively leveraging data and artificial intelligence technology.

Among these players, GS Caltex, Korea’s first private refiner, is seeking a new path through crisis by redesigning safety, efficiency, and speed in plant operations via its DAX strategy, which adds AI transformation to digital transformation. This article examines the DAX journey of GS Caltex.

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