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South Korea’s growing economy is hungry for oil and is actively competing with China for oil and natural gas from Russia, its closest oil rich nation. South Korea is interested in getting a spur of the Asian pipeline being built by Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft, the company’s vice president, Mikhail Barkov, told Reuters.
A source close to the South Korean embassy in Moscow confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that South Korea is interested in the pipeline project and in importing Russian oil, which would allow the country to diversify imports away from the Middle East.
In the past South Korea has evinced interest in importing oil through the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (ESPO). Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) representatives are also believed to be in talks with the Russian oil company Transneft over the construction of a branch of the ESPO pipeline that would stretch through North Korea to South Korea. The oil pipeline is projected to run alongside a gas pipeline.
“That idea was floated (by South Korea) at the level of the diplomatic mission, so there is such an idea. But there is no concrete proposal,” Barkov told Reuters.
Transneft is building the 600,000 barrels-per-day link to the border with China to help Russia, the world’s No.2 oil exporter, diversify its exports away from European markets.
Oil makes up the largest share of South Korea’s total energy consumption. With no domestic oil reserves, South Korea must import all of its crude oil. South Korea’s total reliance on oil imports has led to a policy of securing and diversifying the country’s oil supply.
