In the wake of the Middle East crisis, the government brought out a "maximum oil price system," but as instability in oil product supply persists, one highway gas station has begun limiting sales.
According to the industry on the 16th, one EX-OIL highway discount gas station operated by Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) is limiting sales volumes. It is selling gasoline at only 30,000 won per person and diesel at only 100,000 won per person. The station said it had no choice but to restrict sales because its storage tanks are relatively small.
However, if the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the key route for Middle Eastern crude, continues, more gas stations may limit per-person sales going forward.
Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) decided to cooperate with SK Energy and GS Caltex, the joint-purchasing refiners, to ensure a stable fuel supply. The problem is that when joint-purchase volumes were insufficient, it used to secure additional supplies from other refiners, but with the implementation of the maximum oil price system, it has become harder to obtain volumes.
Refiners supply oil products first to their company-operated gas stations or to independently operated stations under supply contracts when oil prices surge or crude imports are disrupted. Spot agents, as well as stations sourcing through agents, find it relatively harder to secure volumes.
As a result, not only highway gas stations but also "no-pole" stations that do not carry a particular major refiner's brand and instead procure fuel at any given time from the cheapest of multiple wholesalers and sell it under their own label are struggling to secure oil products. (☞ https://biz.chosun.com/industry/company/2026/03/17/5AQDXLGYNVBLZFZ2FIXRZR53QI/)
A Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) official said, "We are consulting with the government and refiners on ways to secure additional joint-purchase volumes to ensure a stable fuel supply."
According to Opinet, the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) oil price information system, as of 10 a.m. that day, the national average gasoline price was 1,829.58 won per liter (L). It peaked at 1,903 won on the 9th and has been trending down, influenced by the implementation of the maximum oil price system. During the same period, the national average diesel price also fell from 1,926 won per L to 1,827.74 won.