South Korea is considering buying Russian oil for the first time in more than three years. Asian oil refiners, including those in South Korea, are scrambling to secure alternative crude shipments in the wake of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East war, Reuters reported March 18. The U.S. Trump administration, which suffers from its own special kind of Trump Derangement Syndrome, has driven South Korea and other Asian nations to put aside ideological differences with Russia and is considering buying Russian oil, to make sure their economies don’t die.
The March 18 TASS reported: “Management of [South Korea’s] SK Energy, HD Hyundai Oilbank, S-Oil, and GS Caltex held meetings with the [South Korean] Ministry of Industry and Trade for three days since March 13. The consultations were held after the U.S. administration temporarily lifted sanctions on transactions with Russian oil and oil products loaded onboard on ships before March 12.”
Reuters reported March 18 that “South Korea imports around 70% of crude oil and half of naphtha through the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korean lawmakers and the industry ministry.” South Korea is one of the world’s top crude oil importers, importing approximately 2.7 to 2.8 million barrels per day (as of 2023–2024). With around 70% coming from the Strait of Hormuz, currently shut, it is not receiving 1.89 million barrels of oil per day—two-thirds of a billion barrels per year. South Korea states that it has in its oil reserve, a 200-day reserve of oil, but that can be used up faster than expected.
