S-Oil won the excellence award from Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco which honors high-achievers among the group’s refining and petrochemical affiliates at home and abroad.

It was awarded the best performance award, the top prize in the operational excellence category at Saudi Aramco 2021 President’s Affiliates Excellence Awards, S-Oil said on Thursday.

Saudi Aramco assesses the business results of its downstream affiliates every year and presents awards in four categories -- health, safety and environment, asset availability, energy intensity and operational excellence. S-Oil has clinched prizes for five years in a row since the award was established in 2017.

“S-Oil was the only refiner among local players in South Korea that swung back to black, reporting 629.2 billion won ($556.7 million) in operating profit in the first quarter. Its operating margin stood at 11.8 percent, the highest among competitors,” a company official said.

Saudi Aramco is the parent company of S-Oil’s major shareholder Aramco Overseas Company.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)