*Middle East exporters continue to dominate Korea’s steadily dwindling crude oil market. Korean crude imports over the first nine months of the year are down 2% to 2.77mn b/d, while the Middle East’s share of the total remains steady at 72%. Korean imports peaked at 3.03mn b/d in 2017 and have been gradually trending down since.
*Saudi Arabia remains the dominant supplier, with the 971,000 b/d it exported to Korea last quarter the highest Q3 figure since 2022, shortly before the kingdom implemented substantial voluntary Opec+ cuts that are now being unwound. (CONTINUED - 238 WORDS)