Korea's Crude imports from Jan to Aug 2008

20 Oct 2008

Crude oil imports from January to August 2008 recorded 576.2 million barrels, 0.8 percent decrease compared with the same period last year, owing to the domestic consumption decrease.

Whereas the imports from Asia and Africa decreased, those from Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia increased. Dependence on the Middle East turned up by 6.9 year on year percent point to 86.0 percent.

The volume imported per day was 2,362 thousand b/d.

Crude imports in August marked 2.0 percent increase compared with the same month last year, owing to the crude oil imports increase of domestic refiners except GS Caltex who shut down its refining facility to repair.

The average unit price of crude imports(on CIF basis) from January to August 2008 was 108.98$/bbl, 45.43 dollar gains compared with the same period last year.

For the same period, the international oil price(based on Dubai crude) continued a upward trend driven by strong fundamentals with constrained supplies and robust non-OECD demand growth, and remained high and volatile due to the weak dollar and geopolitical tension in Iran and Nigeria.

The amount of crude imports recorded 62,800 million dollars, 70.1 percent increase year on year, as the average unit price rose. The August's unit price was $127.52/bbl, up $57.01/bbl compared with the same month last year.

Korea National Oil Corporation