South Korea will expand Canadian crude oil imports 3.3-fold from 4.88 million barrels last year to up to 16 million barrels this year, the government said. If investments proceed as planned, the share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Canada is also projected to rise from 1.7% last year to 3.0% by 2031.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reached the agreement with Natural Resources Canada at the Korea-Canada Energy and Resource Supply Chain Cooperation Forum held in Ottawa on Tuesday. The forum, organized by KOTRA, was held in conjunction with Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik's visit to Canada as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation under President Lee Jae-myung. About 150 officials from government agencies, associations, and companies in the resource sector from both countries attended.
Ahead of the forum, Kang held a preliminary meeting with Canadian Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson to discuss energy and resource cooperation measures. "Both sides agreed that the two countries are optimal and trustworthy partners amid a rapidly changing global supply chain environment, and decided to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas including crude oil, LNG, and critical minerals," the ministry said.
The forum produced concrete outcomes across several sectors. In crude oil, South Korea will increase Canadian imports from 4.88 million barrels last year to up to 16 million barrels this year, with plans to explore further expansion to up to 20 million barrels annually. This would make South Korea Canada's third-largest crude oil export destination after the United States and China.
In the LNG sector, the two sides discussed phase two of the LNG Canada project, building on phase one in which Korea Gas Corp. holds a 5% stake and currently imports 700,000 tons annually. Phase two is targeting a final investment decision within the third quarter of this year. Combined with the new Ksi Lisims project (2 million tons annually), South Korea will secure a stable supply of 3.4 million tons of Canadian LNG per year. The share of Canadian LNG in South Korea's total LNG imports is expected to rise from 1.7% last year to 3.0% by 2031.
The ministry also discussed expanded cooperation with Canada, a major producer of critical minerals. Canada is currently South Korea's third-largest mineral supplier after Australia and Indonesia, and Korean companies have announced plans to purchase 9.03 billion Canadian dollars worth of Canadian minerals and to invest 130 million Canadian dollars in graphite mines.
Building on this complementary industrial structure, the two countries agreed to actively support expanded corporate investment and purchases while continuing discussions on policy tools to stabilize supply. In particular, regarding the joint stockpiling of critical minerals agreed upon during a phone call between the two leaders on the 8th of last month, the two countries plan to develop a joint plan by the end of this year.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) signed an Implementing Arrangement (IA) for joint research on natural hydrogen.
