Base Oil Report As per analysis by our team, Korea produced nearly 2164 MT of Greases in the month of December 2011.which is decreased by 8% from the month of November 2011 and produced 2360 MT. Countries actual shipment quantity for the month was 2266 MT. Korea sold 1986 MT of Greases in the domestic market whereas only 280 MT were exported to other countries. End of the month inventory levels reported at 2257 MT.

Base Oil Report As per analysis by our team, South Korea produced 112901 KL of Lubricating oil in the month of December 2011.which is gone down by 6% from the month of November 2011 and produced 119747 KL. Countries actual shipment quantity for the month was 123105 KL. Korea sold 78572 KL of Lubricating oil in the domestic market whereas only 44533 KL were exported to other countries. End of the month inventory levels reported at 55658 KL.

Base Oil Report: As per reports and information from our sources,South Korea imported 20 percent more crude from Iran in 2011 than in the previous year, an increase that outpaced the overall growth of six percent in shipments to the world’s fifth-largest importer in 2011.Under new US sanctions imposed on Iran, Seoul will need to reduce imports in coming months to convince Washington it is playing a role in efforts by the US and its allies to halt Tehran’s nuclear programme.Crude imports from Iran stood at 238,860 bpd in 2011 versus 198,918 bpd in 2010, the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Wednesday.South Korea imported 2.54 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last year, compared with 2.39 million bpd a year ago, the KNOC data showed.Asia’s fourth-largest economy argues it would have difficulty in replacing Iranian crude supplies, which account for nearly 10 percent of its crude oil imports.Heavily dependent on imported crude, Seoul has not committed publicly to cutting imports from Iran, in contrast to Japan, another big buyer of Iranian crude.Of the four South Korean crude oil refiners, SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import Iranian crude oil. The two refiners struck annual deals to buy a total of 200,000 bpd of Iranian crude this year, a little more than the 190,000 bpd in 2011, but are also keeping an eye out for potential replacements.Tehran has faced a growing array of U.N. and unilateral sanctions for years, but a U.S. bill that President Barack Obama signed into law on New Year’s Eve went further than previous measures, aiming to stop countries paying for Iranian oil.South Korea has some $5 billion in money owed to Iran’s central bank for crude oil imports trapped in its banking system because of the difficulty of sending money to Iran without falling foul of U.S. sanctions.South Korea sourced 87 percent of its total crude imports last year from the Middle East — mainly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iran — up from 82 percent in 2010, according to KNOC data.Refinery profit margins eased to $4.50 a barrel in December after hitting a year high of $5.67 a barrel in October, and crude runs rose 6 percent last year from a year earlier to 2.53 million bpd helped by firm regional demand.Oil product exports gained 25.5 percent in December on the year to 37.04 million barrels, and last year saw a 19 percent year-on-year rise to a record high of 407.88 million barrels, according to KNOC data.Private oil inventories at the end of December stood at 58.76 million barrels, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

Base Oil Report: As per the data analysis by our team, TOBS Base Oil FOB Korea prices were hovering in the range of USD 970 – 985 PMT in the month of January 2011, whereas in the month of February prices hiked up & priced in the range of USD 1040 – 1055 PMT. Prices firmed up further & reported at USD 1120 – 1135 PMT in March, USD 1145 – 1160 PMT in April, USD 1215 – 1230 PMT in May and USD 1265 – 1280 in June. Thereafter prices went down & priced in the range of USD 1245 – 1260 PMT in July, USD 1240 – 1255 PMT in August, USD 1230 – 1245 PMT in September, USD 1200 – 1215 PMT in October, USD 1095 – 1110 PMT in November and USD 1060 – 1075 PMT in December 2011. In current month i.e. January 2012, price of the product have gone down by USD 15 PMT (1%) as compared to last month & reported in the range of USD 1045 – 1060 PMT.

Base Oil Report As per analysis by our team, Korea produced 2360 MT of Greases in the month of November 2011. The country managed to ship 2328 MT in the said month. Korea has a good demand for Greases in the country itself; it has sold 1984 MT in the domestic market and sent only 344 MT for exports. Inventory level reported at 2479 MT at the end of November 2011.

Base Oil Report As per analysis by our team, South Korea produced 119747 KL of Lubricating oil in the month of November 2011.which is gone up by 6% from the month of October 2011 and produced 113061 KL. Countries actual shipment quantity for the month was 123128 KL. Korea sold 79660 KL of Lubricating oil in the domestic market whereas only 43468 KL were exported to other countries. End of the month inventory levels reported at 56326 KL.

Base Oil Report: As per reports and information from our sources,South Korea's SK Energy will import 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil this year under a term contract with Iran, up 10,000 bpd from a year earlier.South Korea is the world's fifth-largest crude importer and buys around 10 percent of its oil from Iran. The small increase in purchases from Iran comes despite fresh US sanctions that if enforced would make it difficult for SK Energy to pay Iran for its oil.A second South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank has struck a deal to import 70,000 bpd of Iranian crude in 2012, unchanged from 2011.Of four refiners in South Korea, only SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import crude from Iran.

Base Oil Report: As per reports and information from our sources,The Saudi national and chief executive of S-Oil, South Korea’s third largest oil refiner, has steered the company through a number of projects and challenges this year.In March, Korean oil refiners scrambled to ship refined products to Japan after the massive earthquake and tsunami disabled major refineries there. Then in April, S-Oil joined other local refiners in bowing to government pressure to lower prices of oil products such as gasoline and diesel for three months to help ease inflation.During the year S-Oil aggressively expanded its facilities, raising its refining capacity by 15% to 669,000 barrels of crude a day and more than doubled its output of paraxylene.The highlight of the year was laying a foundation for S-Oil’s sustainable growth by successfully completing important projects. This year, we built the world’s largest complex producing the petrochemical feedstock paraxylene, and advanced into the renewable energy business through an investment in the business of polysilicon, a feedstock for solar cells. We also built a head office for the first time. In addition, I will never forget that I received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from the Korean government on the back of S-Oil officers’ and employees’ endeavor.

Base Oil Report: As per the data analysis by our team, TOBS Base Oil FOB Korea prices were hovering in the range of USD 970 – 985 PMT in the month of January 2011, whereas in the month of February prices hiked up & priced in the range of USD 1040 – 1055 PMT. Prices firmed up further & reported at USD 1120 – 1135 PMT in March, USD 1145 – 1160 PMT in April, USD 1215 – 1230 PMT in May and USD 1265 – 1280 in June. Thereafter prices went down & priced in the range of USD 1245 – 1260 PMT in July, USD 1240 – 1255 PMT in August, USD 1230 – 1245 PMT in September, USD 1200 – 1215 PMT in October and USD 1095 – 1110 PMT in November 2011. In current month i.e. December 2011, price of the product have gone down by USD 35 PMT (3%) as compared to last month & reported in the range of USD 1060 – 1075 PMT. Since Jan 2011, prices have marked up by 9% till current date.

Base Oil Report: As per reports and information from our sources,Exports by South Korean refiners reached an all-time high this year on the back of brisk sales of petroleum products. Four refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oilbank Co. -- posted a combined 76.15 trillion won (US$65.7 billion) in exports from January to October, up 20.7 percent from a year earlier.The figure also topped a previous record-high of 68.1 trillion won tallied in 2008. Market leader SK Innovation said its exports accounted for 55 percent of 51.4 trillion won in sales over the January-September period. It targets 40 trillion won in exports for this year with 70 trillion in sales.No. 2 player GS Caltex said it is expected to post an estimate of 29.6 trillion won in exports thanks to its aggressive facility expansion and strong overseas performance.Hyundai Oilbank, under the wing of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder, opened two subsidiaries in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Shanghai, China, early this year in a bid to grow overseas markets.The Korean refiners make large profits from overseas sales," said a company official. "They have invested a great fortune into oil-refining facilities.The quality of South Korean petroleum products is one of the best in the world," said an official from the Korea Petroleum Association. "The industry will help boost the country's exports next year amid a deepening economic slowdown.