SEOUL: South Korea’s dependence on Middle Eastern crude grades is expected to grow further in 2017 after rising in 2016, led by strong demand for Iranian condensate and price competitiveness of heavier crude grades from the region.
South Korea made a concerted effort to cut its reliance on Middle Eastern crude and managed to lower their share in the country’s overall crude imports to 82.4% in 2015 from 87% in 2011. But the trend reversed this year, led partly by aggressive efforts by countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to boost market share and the return of Iran to the world oil markets, and is expected to continue next year. South Korea’s major petrochemical companies and refiners have already secured a minimum of 340,000 b/d of Iranian South Pars condensate for 2017, potentially boosting the country’s imports of Iranian oil for next year by at least 21%, S&P Global Platts reported earlier.
