Date : 30/01/2014
TOKYO, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- South Korea's oil consumption fell for the first
time in five years in 2013 as the country used more electricity and city gas
to meet its heating and miscellaneous energy needs, the Seoul-based Yonhap
News Agency reported Thursday.
According to numbers provided by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.
(KNOC), petroleum product consumption reached around 826.84 million barrels
last year, a 0.1 percent dip from the tally taken for 2012.
The last time oil product consumption contracted was in 2008 as the global
financial crisis fueled economic uncertainties and caused people and
industries to cut back on spending, the KNOC said.
More demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a greater number of
factories and homes using city gas have hurt sales overall, the KNOC said. On
the other hand, it said sales of gasoline, diesel fuel used for cars, and
naphtha used by the petrochemical sector did grow last year compared to the
year before.
Since 1997, when the country was rocked by the Asian financial crisis, oil
consumption has only grown very slowly, the report said. While petroleum met
60.4 percent of the country's energy needs in 1997, it recently stood at just
38.1 percent, with the slack being taken up by electricity and natural gas, it
added.
South Korea generates a considerable portion of its electricity using
nuclear power, and is one of the largest importers of natural gas in the world.
Kuwait is South Korea's No. 2 supplier of crude oil, exporting roughly 300,
000-400,000 barrels per day last year. (end)
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