As the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded due to the war between the United States and Iran, cutting off supplies of Middle Eastern crude, U.S. crude accounted for more than 20% of crude imported into Korea in the first half of this year for the first time on record.
On the 17th, according to the Korea Petroleum Association (KPA) and the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), Korea's crude imports in the first half totaled 467.12 million barrels, down 8% from a year earlier.
By country, Saudi crude was the largest at 142.47 million barrels, accounting for 30.5% of the total. Compared with 33.1% in the same period last year, the share fell 2.6 percentage points in one year.
Saudi Arabia suffered disruptions to crude supply and exports as the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded and oil facilities were attacked amid the war between the United States and Iran.
Following Saudi crude, U.S. crude imports came to 95.87 million barrels, or 20.5% of the total. The share of U.S. crude rose 4 percentage points in one year from 16.5% in the same period last year, topping 20% for the first time on a half-year basis.
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked third with a 15.1% share of crude imports, followed by Iraq (7.4%) and Kuwait (4.9%). The UAE, home to Fujairah Port, an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, saw its share rise 3.2 percentage points from 11.9% a year earlier, while Iraq and Kuwait experienced supply disruptions due to the blockade, with their shares falling 2.6 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively.
By region, the share of Middle Eastern crude fell 6.4 percentage points to 62.3% in the first half from 68.7% a year earlier. In contrast, the share from the Americas rose to 26.5% from 23.4%, Africa to 5.6% from 2.0%, and Asia to 5.5% from 5.1%.