S.Korea to release strategic oil reserves to refiners; Asiana cuts flight schedules in General Energy News 02/04/2026 South Korea has moved to deploy its strategic petroleum reserves to stabilize domestic supply, as a prolonged Middle East conflict continues to disrupt global crude markets and push up energy costs. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on Tuesday that it will introduce a stockpile swap program, under which the government will lend crude oil from its reserves to refiners that have secured alternative supplies from outside the Middle East but are still awaiting delivery. Officials said shipments from regions such as the Americas and Africa typically take around 45 days to reach Korea, leaving a near-term supply gap that the swap scheme is designed to bridge. Yang Ki-wook, a senior energy security official at the ministry, told a media briefing that the government will begin with an initial 2-million-barrel swap agreement and expand the program upon refiners’ request. Under the scheme, companies must submit documentation proving they have purchased substitute crude and loaded it onto tankers. After a joint review by the ministry and the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the government will release reserve oil. Once the imported crude arrives in Korea, it will be returned to state stockpiles. STOCKPILE SWAP PROGRAM TO RUN FOR TWO MONTHS The program is initially set to run for two months, covering April and May, with the option of monthly extensions subject to ministerial approval. Yang said a preliminary survey of the country’s four major refiners – SK Energy Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and HD Hyundai Oilbank Co. – indicated demand for more than 20 million barrels of swaps during that period. Combined with Seoul’s earlier commitment to release 22 million barrels of reserves by early June as part of a coordinated effort with the International Energy Agency, officials said the measures should ensure a stable crude supply at least through the first half of the year. However, strains are emerging elsewhere in the energy supply chain. A government review of 50 key items across 11 industries found that while core materials for semiconductors and batteries remain sufficiently stocked for the first half, inventories of certain petrochemical-based components, including automotive interior and exterior plastics made from polypropylene, have fallen to as little as one to one-and-a-half months. AIRLINES HIT HARD The aviation sector has been particularly affected by the surge in fuel prices. Korean Air Lines Co. said it will enter emergency management mode from April, warning that sustained high oil prices could severely undermine its annual business targets. Asiana Airlines Inc., meanwhile, has begun cutting capacity. The carrier said it will reduce a total of 14 round-trip flights on four international routes between April and May, citing soaring jet fuel costs linked to the Middle East crisis. The affected routes include services between Incheon and Phnom Penh, Changchun, Harbin and Yanji, with cancellations spread across April and May. Asiana said the reductions were kept to a minimum to limit passenger disruption, but signaled that further adjustments could not be ruled out if fuel prices remain elevated. Source: The Korea Economic Daily 2026-04-02 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url,