A brand new oil and fuel import and storage facility in South Korea has obtained its first cargo of petroleum merchandise, launching into business operation, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Power (MOTIE) stated.
The Korea Power Terminal, a three way partnership between state-owned Korea Nationwide Oil Corp. (KNOC) and state-backed utility SK Fuel, is a part of the federal government’s Northeast Asia Power Hub, in line with MOTIE. Positioned within the Ulsan Free Financial Zone, the hub is envisioned to be a regional powerhouse for hydrogen expertise growth and hydrogen automobile components manufacturing.
Beginning development 2020, Korea Power Terminal Co. Ltd. (KET) accomplished its oil storage unit December 2023. The fuel storage unit is because of be accomplished this yr, MOTIE stated within the announcement.
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MOTIE famous, “In 2017, Korea eased restrictions for oil merchants and in 2024, the Authorities labored with Korea Customs Service and the Nationwide Tax Service in making amendments to permit the fast refund of duties, value-added tax, and import levies for home oil refiners upon delivery out their petroleum merchandise from bonded areas, enabling worldwide buying and selling firms to mix Korean refiners’ merchandise”.
“These efforts over time have sparked the curiosity of varied international merchants and traders in direction of the Ulsan power hub”, the information launch added.
KET plans to have three liquefied pure fuel tanks with a mixed capability of 645,000 cubic meters (22.8 million cubic ft) and 12 oil tanks with a complete capability of 270,000 cubic meters (9.5 million cubic ft), in line with data from the three way partnership’s web site.
“KNOC will probably be chargeable for constructing and working oil import amenities and storage tanks to make sure stability within the nationwide power provide, and SK Fuel will construct and function LNG unloading amenities and storage tanks”, SK Fuel, wherein the Treasury holds a minority stake, says on its web site.
LNG Overbuild?
South Korea, alongside neighboring China and Japan, is among the many world’s prime LNG importers. It had seven LNG import terminals with a mixed regasification capability of 153 million tons every year as of 2023, in line with international thinktank the Institute for Power Economics and Monetary Evaluation (IEEFA) in a report November 29, 2023.
The IEEFA evaluation stated there’s an LNG infrastructure overbuild within the East Asian nation. “South Korea has reacted to the war-driven power disaster by accelerating its push to construct new liquefied pure fuel import terminals and storage amenities regardless of having a number of the lowest utilization charges for its present LNG terminals”, the report stated.
South Korea had 11 deliberate LNG terminal tasks in line with the November report.
“IEEFA suggests aligning the build-out with LNG demand primarily based on Nationally Decided Contribution targets, boosting public-private efforts for environment friendly use of LNG receiving terminals, and avoiding the promotion of applied sciences and providers that may lengthen LNG use with out aiding nationwide local weather objectives”, the report stated. A Nationally Decided Contribution refers to a doc of dedication deposited earlier than the United Nations by events to the Paris Settlement. The legally binding treaty, which took impact 2016, goals to forestall the worldwide common temperature from going two levels Celsius (35.6 levels Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial ranges and rein within the rise additional to 1.5C (34.7F).
Throughout the globe, the last decade to 2022 has seen regasification capability rise 49 p.c to 140 billion cubic ft per day (Bcfd), unfold throughout amenities in 48 nations, in line with a report by america Power Data Administration (EIA) printed August 30, 2023.
Whereas additional growth is anticipated, obtainable regasification capability has already been exceeding LNG import volumes with solely 39 p.c of the capability used yearly, the EIA stated.
The spare capability is used to stockpile for demand-high intervals, it famous. “Spare regasification capability, most of which is in Japan, South Korea, and China, permits nations to fulfill occasional demand spikes, significantly in winter”, the EIA report stated. “Final yr [2022], international LNG commerce used 37 p.c of accessible regasification capability, or 51.7 Bcf/d”.
To contact the writer, electronic mail jov.onsat@rigzone.com
