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Gov't to cover extra costs for importing alternative crude supplies

Published: 15 Apr. 2026, 17:58

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources office at the government complex in Sejong is pictured on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

The government will cover additional shipping costs crude importers have to bear when bringing in alternative supplies from regions other than the Middle East, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Wednesday, as part of efforts to stabilize the country's energy supply amid the Iran war.

The government will fully compensate additional shipping costs for alternative crude supplies between April and June, according to the Trade Ministry.

Compensation is expected to amount to 127.5 billion won ($86.6 million), it said.

The measure was announced at a meeting of officials from related government ministries and oil refining, petrochemical and shipping industries held to check crude and naphtha supply chains.

The Trade Ministry said it will also inject 674.4 billion won to support up to 50 percent of the difference between prewar prices and increased import prices of naphtha supplies for the April-June period to stabilize supplies of the industrial feedstock widely used across various industries.

Subsidies will also be given to imports of materials that can replace naphtha, such as liquefied petroleum gas and condensate, as well as basic petrochemical materials, including ethylene and propylene.

“The government will do its utmost to safeguard people's daily lives and the continuity of industrial activities by diversifying supply chains for naphtha and crude oil through securing alternative logistics routes," Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan was quoted as saying during the meeting.

Korea's crude and naphtha imports have been directly affected by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as the country imports about 73 percent of its naphtha and 69 percent of its crude supplies from the Middle East.

Yonhap