South Korea steps up to plug Europe’s jet fuel deficit
Europe is increasingly relying on South Korean jet fuel imports to address a significant supply deficit caused by Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions. Analysts expect this trend to continue as European inventories remain at multi-year lows.
Why it matters
The shift in energy supply chains underscores the vulnerability of European fuel markets to global conflicts and the importance of Asian swing suppliers.
Europe faces a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit, even as it turns to far-flung suppliers including South Korea, which is set to boost its jet exports to Europe to a four-year high in September, according to analysts and shipping data.
The continent has been importing more jet fuel from nations including Nigeria, the United States and Canada since the outbreak of the Iran war over half a year ago, which hit Middle Eastern supplies and cut off around half of Europe’s jet imports.
Europe remains highly exposed to the risk of further supply disruption as Middle Eastern tensions rise. Consultancy Energy Aspects forecasts that Europe will see a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit of 510,000 barrels per day, against surpluses of 18,000 in the United States and 419,000 in Asia-Pacific. The third-quarter trend is largely the same.
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