Seoul looking for Iranian oil alternatives

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The South Korean government could look to the United Arab Emirates as a supplier in order to reduce its dependency on Iranian oil, an official said.

South Korea last year received about 10 percent of its petroleum from Iran, up from around 8 percent the previous year.

A source in the South Korean government was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying it wouldn't be difficult "to return the volume back to the level of the previous year."

U.S. ally Seoul reportedly asked Washington for a sanctions exemption so oil imports from Iran could continue. Industry sources, meanwhile, said South Korea could get use Emirati oil as a substitute for Iran.

Mohamed al-Hamli, the Emirati oil minister, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying an oil pipeline that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz could be finished by May.

"The pipeline is almost complete, so hopefully it will be operational, say, within six months, by May (or) June," he said. "It's a big project, there's a lot to do."

Washington imposed sanctions on Iran that make it difficult for Tehran to process oil transactions. Tehran has threatened to close key shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the latest sanctions pressure.