Newsbase - Asia Oil & Gas News Montior Subscribe to download Archive

AsianOil: South Korea approves oil release to take pressure off refiners

The South Korean government last week gave the green light to release more than 4mn barrels of oil from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
The release follows a decision taken earlier this month alongside the 30 other member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who agreed to a co-ordinated release of 60mn barrels of crude from SPRs worldwide. The US accounts for half of the volumes due to be released.
In a statement released by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MTIE) just two days prior to the election of new President Yoon Suk-yeol, the outgoing administration revealed that a total of 4.42mn barrels was being released. The move comes in a bid to aid South Korea’s domestic refineries in finding replacements for Russian crude supplies in the coming weeks.
Addressing South Korea’s release, the MTIE said: “The decision aims to seek stability in the energy market both at home and abroad, and to express our solidarity with the US and other member nations by sending a message that energy resources cannot be used as a geopolitical tool.”
There has been some questioning of the move at home, though, as Russian crude makes up a relatively small amount of South Korea’s overall crude imports. Nonetheless, the release is anticipated to more than cover any shortfall resulting from a curtailment of Russian crude imports in the near term.