Oil Industry Achieves Record High Gasoline and Diesel Export Volumes Last Year

Record High Since Statistics Began in 1992

A view of the SK Innovation Ulsan Complex located in Gosa-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan Metropolitan City. Photo by SK Innovation

Last year, the volume of gasoline and diesel exported by the domestic refining industry in South Korea reached an all-time high.

The Korea Petroleum Association announced on the 2nd that last year, domestic refiners such as SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and HD Hyundai Oilbank exported 111.89 million barrels of gasoline and 201.66 million barrels of diesel. The export volumes of gasoline and diesel were the highest since related statistics began in 1992.

The export volume of high value-added products such as jet fuel also increased by 3% compared to the previous year, reaching 88.26 million barrels. As a result, total petroleum product exports rose by 4.8% year-on-year to 490.45 million barrels, ranking second highest ever after 2018. This volume is equivalent to filling the Seoul World Cup Stadium about 33 times. Last year, South Korea refined and exported 52.5% of the crude oil it imported, marking the highest export ratio among crude oil imports.

However, despite the increase in export volume, the export value of petroleum products decreased by 2.9% year-on-year to $45.17 billion (approximately 61.6 trillion KRW) due to the decline in international oil prices.

The Petroleum Association explained, "The record high export volumes of gasoline and diesel were the result of domestic refiners seeking a breakthrough by expanding exports of light oil products amid deteriorating business conditions caused by weak global refining margins last year."

By product, diesel accounted for the largest share of exports at 41.1%, followed by gasoline at 22.8%, jet fuel at 18%, and naphtha at 8.1%. Gasoline exports increased by 12.1% compared to the previous year, showing the highest growth rate. Among these, exports to Japan surged by 33%. Japan consolidated its refineries as part of decarbonization and energy-saving efforts, but last year experienced shortages of gasoline and jet fuel due to a sharp increase in foreign tourists caused by the weak yen.

By country, export volumes were led by Australia at 18%, Japan at 12.9%, Singapore at 12.5%, the United States at 8.8%, and China at 8.7%, with Japan overtaking Singapore to rank second.

The Petroleum Association stated, "This year, due to increased instability from the energy and trade policies following the inauguration of the Trump administration in the United States, the export environment for petroleum products will not be easy. The refining industry will focus on diversifying export countries and exporting high value-added products based on refining competitiveness to further improve the quality of petroleum product exports."

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