South Korea aims to reduce the Middle East’s share of its crude imports to 50% by 2035 under a draft strategy to strengthen resource security, OilPrice.com reported, citing Reuters and the country’s industry ministry. The proposal would reshape procurement for a country heavily dependent on imported energy, with Gulf supply disruption adding urgency to efforts to broaden its sources.
The ministry’s 10-year plan also envisages adding about 20 million barrels to oil reserves by 2030. According to the ministry figures cited in the report, Middle Eastern producers currently supply as much as 70% of South Korea’s crude imports, with most of those barrels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The proposed strategy therefore addresses both the concentration of suppliers and the amount of oil held in reserve.
Gas is also covered by the plan, although South Korea’s dependence on Middle Eastern supplies is substantially lower than for crude. The region accounted for a fifth of its gas imports last year, OilPrice.com reported. Over the coming decade, Seoul wants to keep that share at no more than 30%, setting a ceiling above the proportion recorded last year rather than seeking the same reduction outlined for crude.
The report linked the longer-term planning to the closure of Hormuz and the pressures that followed the start of war in the Persian Gulf. In March, Seoul introduced a cap on fuel prices for the first time in 30 years, seeking to steady the domestic market and protect the economy. It also restricted driving by civil servants that month as a precaution against potential fuel shortages.
South Korea has since concentrated on widening its supplier network. OilPrice.com said the Hormuz crisis had also pushed Seoul towards longer-term supply planning, alongside other major energy importers seeking more dependable access to essential commodities beyond the immediate disruption.