South Korea has struck a crude oil supply deal with the United Arab Emirates to secure emergency energy supplies amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Under the agreement which was announced this Friday by authorities in UAE, they will provide South Korea with about four to six million barrels of crude oil.
The UAE also pledged that up to two million barrels of crude oil stored in joint strategic reserves in South Korea could be released if necessary.
Meanwhile, two South Korean-flagged oil tankers, each capable of carrying about two million barrels, are expected to load the crude from UAE ports that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The move comes as tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel have raised concerns about possible disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which South Korea, who are the world’s fourth-largest crude oil importer, relies on for about 70 percent of its oil imports.
