South Korea is set to resume imports of Argentine crude in 2027, giving its refiners another source of oil as they work to reduce their heavy reliance on Middle Eastern supplies.
The planned trade follows trial shipments and feedstock testing by several South Korean refining and petrochemical companies, according to an S&P Global report published August 11.
The two countries reached an agreement after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Argentine President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires. Their governments will work to facilitate crude oil trade while also pursuing cooperation in natural gas and nuclear power.
No import volume has been announced.
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“In the first half of 2026, South Korea imported 291.2 million barrels of sour crude from the Middle East, accounting for 62% of its total crude intake of 467.1 million barrels, the latest KNOC data showed July 28,” the report stated.
Latin American suppliers accounted for 20.5 million barrels over the same period.
For South Korean refiners, the move would reopen a supply route that has been largely absent for more than 15 years. The country last imported Argentine crude in October 2010, when a refiner purchased 300,000 barrels, according to Korea National Oil Corp. data cited by S&P Global.
The Vaca Muerta shale play leads Argentina’s oil development. Output is forecast to rise from about 740,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2025 to around 810,000 b/d in 2026, with Vaca Muerta contributing more than 60% of national production.
Argentina has already attracted interest from other Asian buyers. Medanito crude, produced in the Vaca Muerta formation, has been sold into the Far East market for deliveries during the third and fourth quarters.
Taiwan’s CPC Corp. purchased its first cargo of Medanito crude for September delivery, according to trade sources cited by S&P Global.
The light sweet crude has an American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of about 40.8° and sulfur content of approximately 0.15%. Its quality is considered comparable to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland, S&P said.
Medanito was assessed at a US$2 per barrel discount to the Latin American Brent futures strip on August 10. That marked a recovery from a three-and-a-half-year low of US$7.60 per barrel below the benchmark recorded on July 9, when Asian demand for the crude was weaker.
