Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter South Korea landed just 2.47 million b/d of crude in June, its lowest level since March 2021, according to data from the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC). Volumes fell by 164,000 b/d from May. Saudi crude imports suffered the biggest decline, dropping by 171,000 b/d from May to 706,000 b/d in June — their lowest level in nearly a year. The declines in overall Korean imports were likely driven mainly by lower refining runs, which dropped by 103,000 b/d from May to 2.64 million b/d in June, with run rates losing 2.9 percentage points to a relatively low 74.5%. Imports of Russian crude stayed mostly stable at 26,000 b/d in June, up by a slight 3,000 b/d from May. But this is a considerable decline from pre-Ukraine war volume — South Korea imported an average of 147,000 b/d of Russian crude in 2021.
