Introduction

South Korea is a country that consumes more oil then it produces and has reserves to last over five years.

Crude Oil Production

South Korea does not produce oil. South Korea imports oil from Saudi Arabia and Russia, because it doesn't have any natural resources.

Barrels/Day

A barrel is a measurement of volume, used in the United States and Canada to measure liquids. A barrel usually holds 42 gallons (159 liters), but this can vary depending on how much liquid it contains. For example, if you have a barrel of oil with 150 liters in it, there will be less oil than if you have one with only 120 liters.

The abbreviation for barrels per day is B/D (barrels per day).

2,200,000.00

In South Korea, 2.2 million barrels of oil are consumed per day. How much is that? It's about 25% of the world's total daily consumption.

Oil Consumption

South Korea is a country that consumes more oil than it produces. In 2016, South Korea consumed 7.3 million barrels of crude oil per day while producing only 6.7 million barrels of crude oil per day. This means that South Korea imports approximately 0.6 million barrels of crude oil each day to meet its consumption needs.

Although South Korea has reserves to last over five years, several other countries have much better reserve numbers compared to them. Saudi Arabia has the best reserve numbers with 264 billion barrels available for their use, which is more than double what South Korea has (114 billion). Russia comes in second place with around 175 billion barrels and Venezuela third at 145 billion (Source: CIA Factbook).

2,175,000.00

South Korea has one of the highest rates of automobile ownership in Asia, with over 20 million registered vehicles in a country with a population of just 50 million people. South Korean car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia are two of the top five biggest brands worldwide by volume. However, this is not without its problems: South Korea's love affair with cars has taken its toll on the environment, as well as on traffic congestion and air pollution levels (and also on road rage). The government aims to reduce carbon emissions by 5% per year over the next decade; but in order to do so successfully will require cooperation from all sectors of society—including business owners who may want more cars on the road rather than less!

Proven Oil Reserves

Proved oil reserves are the amount of oil that can be produced from known oil fields under current conditions. They're one indicator of the long-term availability of a country's energy resources.

Proved oil reserves are typically between 1 and 2 percent of global production, which is around 30 billion barrels per year (bbl/d). The top ten countries have about 60 percent of proved reserves, with Saudi Arabia holding about 12 percent (Figure 1).

Barrels (1,000)

South Korea has 10,000,000 barrels of oil reserves and a population of 51,000,000 people. This means that per person, South Koreans have 0.01 barrels of oil left to consume before they are totally out of oil. In comparison to other countries in the world with roughly the same amount of people as South Korea (like Japan), this is very low — indeed much lower than the global average reserve per capita (0.16).

10,000,000.00

The South Korean economy is the world's 11th largest by nominal GDP and the 15th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).

In 2018, South Korea ranked as the 15th largest exporter and 14th largest importer in the world.

South Korea is an industrialized country, with a highly skilled labor force and a strong focus on exports. A free market economy with capitalist characteristics, South Korea has a per capita income five times higher than North Korea's and an unemployment rate of 2%.

South Korea is a country that consumes more oil then it produces and has reserves to last over five years.

South Korea is a country that consumes more oil than it produces and has reserves to last over five years.

It is also the world’s fifth largest importer of crude oil. The country imports over 90% of its oil from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Korea has been looking for ways to reduce its energy dependency over the past several years. In October 2016, the country’s government announced plans to build a nuclear power plant with 4 reactors each with 1,400 MW capacity by 2029. Korea is also working on developing renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Conclusion

It is estimated that South Korea will continue to import oil for the foreseeable future.