South Korea's government launched an audit of the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) after discovering that 900,000 barrels of foreign-owned crude stored in Ulsan were sold overseas. The move comes amid Middle East tensions and efforts to secure oil supplies.
On March 20, 2026, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources launched an audit into the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) after officials discovered that 900,000 barrels of crude oil, owned by an undisclosed Middle Eastern oil company and stored at a strategic facility in Ulsan, had been sold to an unidentified buyer in Southeast Asia. KNOC leases the Ulsan site to foreign companies under an international joint stockpiling program, granting South Korea priority purchase rights in case of supply disruptions. The ministry will investigate whether the sale violated regulations by occurring before these rights could be exercised. A ministry official stated, 'It is impossible to recover the 900,000 barrels now. We will strictly hold those accountable if they are found to have violated regulations.' KNOC claims it saw no need to invoke the rights, as the Middle Eastern firm had signed a contract earlier that month to supply 2 million barrels to a South Korean refiner. The company stored the 2 million barrels as scheduled but sold the shipment to capitalize on soaring oil prices, according to industry sources. KNOC has secured supply rights for the remaining 1.1 million barrels. The issue surfaced as the government raises efforts to minimize disruptions amid the Middle East conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, having elevated the crude oil supply disruption alert to Level 2 earlier in the week.
