Kang Hoon-sik: "We Secured 74.62 Million Barrels of Crude Oil for May, So Supply Disruptions Are Not a Major Concern"

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\r[The Financial News] Kang Hoon-sik, Chief of Staff to the President, said on the 24th that concerns over crude oil supply amid the prolonged Arab-Israeli conflict are easing. He noted that 74.62 million barrels will be secured in May, equal to 87% of last year's monthly average imports, so there is little reason to worry about supply disruptions.
At a briefing on emergency economic conditions held that day at the Chunchugwan Press Center at the Blue House, Kang said, "We are also putting everything on the line to secure substitute crude oil supplies."
"By securing additional volumes from the Americas and Africa, we have reduced our dependence on Middle Eastern crude from 69% to 56%, a drop of 13 percentage points," he explained. "We are diversifying not only import sources but also the shipping routes used by tankers."
He stressed that "the decision to import 23.99 million barrels from Saudi Arabia and 16 million barrels from the UAE in May through alternative routes unrelated to the Strait of Hormuz is the result of swift action by the government and the private sector working together."
Kang also warned that inflationary pressure could intensify. "International oil prices and raw material prices remain high," he said. "The impact of the Middle East conflict on consumer prices may only be starting now."
He added, "Rising prices weaken the purchasing power of ordinary people and hinder the recovery of the domestic economy. That is why the government is making every effort to swiftly execute the supplementary budget, including payments for high oil prices and subsidies."
On concerns over supply of petrochemical products such as naphtha, plastics, and plastic bags, Kang said, "The government is thoroughly checking daily supply trends not only for crude oil and naphtha, but also for key items actually used on site, and is assessing and managing risks through a traffic-light system."
Current inventories of naphtha and basic petrochemical feedstocks are enough for about one month, placing them in the "orange" category. Kang said, however, that "once subsidies for naphtha import price gaps included in the supplementary budget are executed, and the 2.1 million tons of naphtha secured through special envoys begin arriving in sequence from the end of April, we expect the status to shift to yellow in about a month."
Regarding asphalt supply, he said there are "serious concerns on the ground." He added, "The government is conducting a full survey of the situation, adjusting the timing of construction orders, and pushing ahead with a plan to prioritize urgent projects through a public-private consultative body."
"The government is mobilizing all available administrative resources so that companies can operate normally without worrying about raw materials and so that people can maintain their daily lives," Kang added.
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west@fnnews.com Sung Seok-woo Reporter