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.
