Seoul, April 7 South Korea has secured an additional 60 million barrels of alternative oil supplies for May that will replace supplies from the Middle East that have been blocked due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the government said on Tuesday.
The country has secured a total of 110 million barrels of oil -- 50 million for April and 60 million for May -- so far from 17 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Canada, Yang Ghi-wuk, deputy minister for trade, industry and resource security, said in a regular press briefing, reports Yonhap news agency.
The amount secured for this month and May each represents about 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively, of monthly oil supplies to South Korea when things run as usual, he added.
Regarding the oil swap system introduced last week, Yang said the country's major four refiners have submitted plans to borrow more than 30 million barrels under the program, with around 8 million barrels to be delivered this week.
Under the oil swap system, South Korean refiners can borrow crude oil from the national reserve and return the same volume once shipments of their crude supplies secured abroad arrive.
"Refiners have expressed interest in the oil swap system and are willing to utilise it," he said.
Touching on naphtha, a crucial raw material in petrochemical manufacturing, Yang said he expects imports for the raw material to reach 770,000 tons this month, which will be equivalent to some 70 percent of the amount imported during the same month last year.
Also, the aggregate naphtha supply is projected to reach around 80 to 90 percent of the amount needed for the month on a normal basis when adding around 1.1 million tons of the material produced within the country, Yang added.
"We plan to work with companies to make efforts in securing naphtha supplies once the supplementary budget passes and the extra budget is allocated," he said.
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