Legislative Notice for the Amendment of the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Petroleum and Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act
Considering the ongoing instability in the Middle East and the high dependence on Middle Eastern crude oil imports exceeding 70%, the "Crude Oil Import Source Diversification Support System," which is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, will be extended for three more years.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 18th that it has prepared a partial amendment to the "Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Petroleum and Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act" containing this content and will conduct a legislative notice period until June 3.
The Crude Oil Import Source Diversification Support System refunds the excess transportation costs compared to Middle Eastern crude oil within the limit of the petroleum import surcharge when importing non-Middle Eastern crude oil from regions such as the Americas and Europe. Considering the deepening instability of the global oil market and the increasing trend of dependence on Middle Eastern imports (59.8% in 2021 → 71.9% in 2023), the government will extend the support system, which was scheduled to expire in December 2024, until December 2027 for three years.
This legislative notice is a follow-up measure to the amendment of the Petroleum Business Act promulgated on February 6 this year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to prepare subordinate laws such as enforcement decrees and enforcement rules by August 7, in line with the enforcement of the law, to establish the legal and institutional foundation necessary for the production and use of eco-friendly petroleum alternative fuels.
Additionally, through the amended enforcement decree and enforcement rules, the government has specified delegated matters such as ▲the types of petroleum alternative fuels according to the characteristics of raw materials ▲the scope and usage reporting of eco-friendly refining raw materials ▲designation of a dedicated institution for petroleum alternative fuels and supplementation of support project details. Furthermore, to strengthen disaster safety response capabilities, the amendments include provisions that exceptionally allow mobile petroleum sales to fire trucks deployed to urgent sites such as large fires.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to collect various opinions on the amendment of the enforcement decree and enforcement rules of the Petroleum Business Act through the legislative notice and, in consultation with related ministries, will also prepare various support measures to promote private investment in eco-friendly petroleum alternative fuels.
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