President Lee Jae Myung, center, visits Korea National Oil Corporation's strategic oil reserve complex in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, March 26. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok
Korea will ease crude oil stockpiling requirements for the private sector in a step to carry out its oil release pledge under a joint plan adopted by International Energy Agency (IEA) members, an industry ministry official said Thursday.
Starting Friday, the private oil refiners will be required to maintain oil reserves equivalent to a volume of 20 days of average domestic sales until further notice, said Yang Ghi-wuk, deputy minister for trade, industry and resources security.
Currently, the mandatory stockpiling requirement for oil refiners is 40 days.
Yang said the government made such a decision for the "faithful" implementation of Seoul's pledge to release 22.46 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves by June 9 under a joint plan adopted by 32 member nations of the IEA as part of efforts to help address disruptions in oil markets sparked by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The IEA recognizes the easing of private oil stockpiling requirements, which allows private oil refining companies to release supplies into the market voluntarily, as an implementation of the strategic oil stock release, he explained.
With the move, the Seoul government plans to report to the IEA an oil release amounting to around 12 million barrels.
Source: Korea Times News
