Government "Considering Release of 200 Million Barrels of Reserve Oil in Case of Oil and Gas Supply Crisis" (Update)

Petroleum and Gas Supply and Price Trend Review Meeting Held on the 6th
Refining Industry: "No Supply Disruptions Yet"
Experts: "Must Prepare for Uncertainties"
Government: "Minimizing Petroleum and Gas Market Impact... Rapid Response"
Ongoing Review Meetings... Operating Situation Room with Industry

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government announced that it is considering releasing 200 million barrels of reserved oil in the event of an oil and gas supply crisis caused by instability in the Middle East situation.

On the 6th at 2 p.m., the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a meeting to review oil and gas supply and price trends at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Seoul, chaired by Ju Young-jun, Director of the Energy Resources Office. The meeting was held to check the energy supply situation amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.

Attendees included officials from Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea Gas Corporation, refiners (SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, Hyundai Oilbank), the Petroleum Association, and the Korea Energy Economics Institute.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided to strengthen inspections to ensure that the emergency response system can operate swiftly in case an oil and gas supply crisis actually occurs.

In particular, if an oil and gas supply crisis occurs, the ministry plans to hold its own crisis evaluation meetings and gradually review and implement measures such as releasing reserved oil and reducing oil demand. As of the end of November last year, the total amount of reserved oil and stockpiles held by the government and private sector is approximately 200 million barrels, of which government reserves account for 96.5 million barrels.

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

At the meeting, the refining industry and Korea Gas Corporation stated, "There has been no direct supply disruption caused by attacks on oil and gas facilities or oil tankers in the Middle East region." They also conveyed that, based on inspections so far, there have been no disruptions in domestic imports.

Experts and officials attending the meeting expressed the view that "there will be no immediate significant impact from this incident, but it is necessary to prepare for the possibility of increased uncertainty in the international oil and gas markets in the future."

Ju Young-jun, Director of the Energy Resources Office, said, "The Middle East accounts for a large portion of our country's crude oil and LNG imports," adding, "We will continuously monitor the Middle East situation and international oil and gas market trends together with the industry and respond promptly to minimize the impact on the domestic oil and gas market."

The government plans to continuously hold oil supply and price review meetings with related organizations and the industry. Together with the Korea National Oil Corporation and the industry, it will operate an oil supply situation room to conduct daily monitoring of supply conditions including crude oil imports and oil tanker trends, as well as international oil prices and domestic petroleum product prices.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "We have actively responded to the ongoing instability in the Middle East since April last year in cooperation with related organizations and the industry," and added, "We will continue to do our best to stabilize domestic oil supply and prices in line with this effort."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.