South Korea South Korea's Crude Imports Projected To See A Long-Term Decline

摘要

South Korea’s crude oil imports averaged 3.06mn b/d in 2018, fat versus the previous year, as slow economic growth and mediocre domestic demand growth counterbalanced strong export demand from regional emerging markets. The bearish narrative also feeds through to inform our long-term outlook, as stricter emissions laws across a number of fuel- intensive sectors, notably transport, alongside nationwide clean-energy and energy conservation eforts, combine to drag on both crude imports and fuels demand growth. The projected long-term decline in South Korea’s crude demand will impact suppliers from the Middle East, still the largest source of crude despite robust diversifcation eforts.