Government establishes first ‘resource security basic plan’… Expansion of core minerals from 38 to 51

The government has decided to reduce crude oil dependence on specific regions to less than 50% by 2035 and expand storage facilities.

The plan is to use the Middle East war as a lesson to diversify crude oil supply lines and expand stockpiles.

In addition, the management targets of core minerals used in semiconductors and batteries will be increased to 51 types, and the storage period will be expanded to up to 365 days.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the '6th Resource Security Council' at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, presided over by Minister Kim Jeong-gwan, and deliberated and confirmed four agenda items, including the '1st Resource Security Basic Plan', which contained these contents.

The Basic Resource Security Plan is a government-wide mid- to long-term resource security plan prepared for the first time since the Special Act on National Resource Security was implemented in February last year.

The government set 'establishing an unwavering resource security readiness posture even in times of crisis' as its core direction and decided to ease dependence on specific regions for crude oil to less than 50% by 2035. This means that we will manage our dependence on the Middle East region below a certain level.

In addition, the success of the 10 mineral strategic projects and securing new industrial resources were presented as major goals.

To this end, we plan to establish a stable supply and demand structure by diversifying the introduction channels, contract methods, and oil types of crude oil and natural gas.

In addition, we plan to expand the storage facility to 20 million barrels by 2030 to increase the amount of government oil reserves and international joint stockpiles, and to secure additional condensate to support stable domestic production of naphtha.

Management of key mineral supply chains will also be strengthened. The government newly designated a total of 13 types of minerals, including germanium, phosphorus, fluorspar, and 10 rare earths, as core minerals, expanding the management targets from 38 to 51 types.

In addition, we plan to increase the number of stockpiled items from 24 to 29 types and increase the stockpile target for minerals vulnerable to the supply chain from 180 days to a maximum of 365 days to differentially manage supply and demand risks by mineral type.

Minister Kim Jeong-kwan said, "Experiencing the war in the Middle East, we have once again confirmed that resource security is not just a matter of cost, but a matter of national survival that protects people's lives and industries. We will fundamentally improve the structure of our resource supply chain, moving away from the short-term and reactive responses that were repeated every time a crisis occurred."