June 13, 2012 [Fox Business] - A new, 8.2 million-barrel oil-storage terminal in Yeosu, South Korea, will become commercially operational in January 2013, creating a trading hub linking South Korea with China, Japan and the U.S. West Coast, an executive Korea National Oil Corp. said Wednesday.
Trading at the terminal could lead to the creation of new benchmark prices for some oil products in North Asia, similar to benchmark prices established in Singapore, said Kwon Se-min, KNOC’s senior manager of the products and storage trading team.”China, Japan and Korea consume around 20% of global oil, but the market doesn’t fully reflect the region’s particulars” in terms of pricing, Mr. Kwon said.
The Yeosu Oilhub may even complement regional strategic petroleum reserves in the event of a supply disruption, he said.KNOC is the biggest stakeholder in the terminal, with 29%.China Aviation Oil Corp. (G92.SG) has a 26% stake. SK Energy Co. and GS Caltex Corp., South Korea’s two largest refiners, each hold 11% stakes.
The storage terminal will be capable of holding 4 million barrels of crude oil and 4.2 million barrels of oil products, Mr. Kwon said.The crude and products will eventually be marketed to consumers in China, Japan, Southeast Asia and the U.S. West Coast, he said.The Yeosu terminal is less than two days’ shipping time to the Chinese ports of Shanghai and Tianjin, China Aviation Oil said previously.
