The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources decided to urgently review the supply of crude oil, gas and naphtha in preparation for rising tensions in the Middle East and to strengthen its emergency readiness, including immediately resuming the strategic petroleum reserve swap system if needed.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said on the 2nd that it held an "emergency real-economy review meeting on the Middle East war" in the afternoon, chaired by Minister Kim Jung-kwan. Minister Kim, who is accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on an overseas trip, chaired the meeting via video from Frankfurt, Germany, reviewing the import status, inventories and alternative supply secured for each resource. In particular, the ministry closely examined item-by-item measures assuming a worst-case scenario in which both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are blocked at the same time.
Crude oil imports for August–September have been secured above last year's average, and shipments for October are also arriving sequentially. The government sees no problem with short-term supply and demand but judged that preparations are needed to secure volumes after October if uncertainty over passage through the two straits persists. The Minister instructed refiners to use alternative routes such as the Suez Canal and Egypt's SUMED pipeline in consultation with the industry and to prepare to immediately resume the strategic petroleum reserve swap system if necessary.
For gas, more than 80% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is already sourced from outside the Middle East, but the ministry will continue managing domestic inventories and the status of diversifying supplies from Southeast Asia, Australia and North America as a precaution. For naphtha, the challenge after September is to secure stable volumes amid price increases, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) will continue existing stabilization measures while also preparing additional procurement plans.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) assessed that inventories of petrochemical products are at a stable level. However, in preparation for the possibility that uncertainty over naphtha imports and maritime transport could be prolonged, it will launch a "petrochemical intermediate supply review task force (TF)" and strengthen monitoring of key items.
The Minister said, "Taking into account the worst-case scenario of a Bab el-Mandeb blockade following Hormuz, please review and manage supply and demand in real time," and added, "In the event of a crisis, please prepare to fully mobilize all available policy tools, including the use of alternative routes and strategic petroleum reserve swaps."