Korea imports more oil from the Middle East because of price

South Korea, 97 % reliant on crude imports, is importing more of its oil from the Middle East because of price, the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has revealed. In a report, KNOC explained that Middle East crude remains relatively inexpensive compared to products from Africa, America and Europe.
KNOC figures show the nation brought in 399,275,000 mm barrels or 75.3 % of its total oil imports from the Middle East from January through July this year. Officials said that the figure marks an increase of 4.6 %, compared with the 70.7 % (360,646,000 barrels) reported during the same period last year. KNOC officials said the gap between Middle East crude and other world crudes was widening.