South Korea's dependence on Middle Eastern crude oil stood at 83.8 percent in the first quarter, edged down 0.4 percent from the same period a year ago, according to press release by the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) on Monday. Asia accounted for 15.3 percent, up 1.4 percent, while imports from Africa were none in the January-March period, the KNOC said.
Overall South Korea's crude oil imports in the first quarter grew 13.3 percent year-on-year to 235.1 million barrels, or 2.61 million barrels per day (bpd), fueled by increase in domestic consumption, exports and production, it said. In March alone, the nation imported 80.1 million barrels (2.58 million bpd), up 19.8 percent from a year earlier. South Korea, with its heavy industrial base, is the world's fifth-biggest oil importer.
The average unit price of crude imports in the first quarter soared to USD 97.7 per barrel, up from USD 77.2 a year ago, as "the average Dubai crude price continued on an upward trend, influenced by unrest in the Middle East and North Africa," according to the KNOC.
The amount of crude imports recorded USD 22.96 billion in the three months ended March 31, posting a sharp increase of 43.4 percent year-on-year. Last month, South Korea secured the right to receive a minimum 250,000 bpd of crude from Iraq during crisis situations, more than 10 percent of South Korea's total daily crude oil imports.
Source: Kuna
