Son Ju-seok, president of Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), personally inspected the status of loading crude oil onto tankers from strategic reserves to support supply stability for domestic refiners (emergency lending of volumes).
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said Son visited the Geoje oil stockpiling base on the 21st to check readiness for the intake and shipment of emergency reserve oil. The same day at the Geoje base, Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) carried out offshore crude shipments to supply refiners.
The inspection was arranged to confirm that the reserve oil swap (SWAP) operation to supply refiners with needed crude in a timely manner is proceeding without a hitch, amid difficulties in Korea's crude supply caused by recent instability in the international situation.
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) is implementing a swap system under which it lends crude from reserves on the condition that alternative volumes are loaded and later receives those imported volumes in return, after crude supply disruptions arose following the Middle East situation and the introduction of alternative volumes secured by refiners was delayed.
Son inspected key facilities, including crude intake and shipment installations, underground caverns, and aboveground tanks, focusing on the progress of the swap operation and safety management.
Anticipating possible logistics disruptions due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, Son said, "We must maintain a zero-defect supply posture so that, under any circumstances, our people's economy does not suffer a shock," adding, "As the Geoje branch is one of the core hubs of Korea's oil reserves, please be fully prepared so that crude can be supplied swiftly to the domestic market when needed through close cooperation with refiners."