East Asian Oil Company sent raw tariffs to oppose, prioritizing economic purification
Some oil companies managed by the government in East Asia actively explore the increase in US crude oil purchases to balance the impact of US tariffs. However, most of the private sector rectors have emphasized that economic purification will remain their main consideration in the procurement of raw materials, preferred than diplomatic factors.
To reduce the impact of US tariffs ranging from 25% to 36%, the main economy of East Asia such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand is pursuing diplomatic efforts to negotiate more profitable requirements and preserve strong trade relations with the US.
Earlier in July, US President Donald Trump announced that starting August 1, imports from several East Asian countries will experience significant tariffs. For the main Asian economy, tariffs range from 25% of goods from South Korea and Japan up to 32% for Indonesia and 36% for Thailand.
Industrial participants and government officials have indicated that these countries saw an increase in the purchase of US crude oil, LNG and other energy products as potential negotiations in negotiations. With the scheduled tariffs starting from August 1, the Asian economy really wants to take advantage of their purchasing power to encourage softer US attitudes.
In Southeast Asia, the Indonesian state energy company, Pertamina, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US about the supply of crude oil as part of the negotiations of reciprocal tariffs. “Cooperation includes optimizing the supply of raw materials or crude oil for energy security, as well as potential collaboration in the downstream refinery sector,” said Fadjar Djoko Santoso, Vice President of Corporate Communication in Pertamina.
Although Indonesia mainly depends on various levels of Asian and Southeast Australian sweet raw, sweet sweet light, including WTI Midland and West Texas Lights, is expected to integrate well into the domestic refinery system because the specifications of the same sulfur content, according to the source of surgery management in Pertamina.
Jakarta highlights that Indonesia is a regular buyer of US oil products. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia noted that 54% of Indonesia’s LPG imports are currently from the US, along with around 4% of the total fuel imports.
PTT managed by the Thai government indicated that the country had wanted to increase the purchase of US crude oil in 2025. Staff rose sharply in the import of WTI Midland crude oil for the past few years to be able to function as valuable data for Bangkok to show off during future tariff negotiations with Washington.
Thailand bought 143,771 B/D US crude oil in the first five months of 2025, up from 124,450 B/D during the same period the previous year, 102,438 B/D during January-May 2023 and 48,000 B/D during January-May 2022, according to data from Thailand Customs.
In South Korea, the Korean National Oil Corp managed by the government issued a spot tender in July to sell the amount of Iraq Basrah medium crude oil that was not determined, making space in its reserve storage facilities to accommodate US crude oil, traders in Singapore and refinery sources in Seoul and Ulsan with close knowledge of the material.
According to traders in Singapore, KNOC may have bought a very large WTI Midland crude oil with a premium of around $ 1.10/B to the front plate next month.
KNOC refused to comment on the spot trading agreement. However, an official from an oil company managed by the government told Platts, part of the S&P Global Commodity Insights, that both the South Korean and KNOC governments are considering increasing the purchase of US energy products to help overcome trade imbalances between South Korea and the US, because Seoul sought ways to strengthen their position in the negotiations of reciprocal tariffs.
Private sector rectors
Penytiling in the private sector of South Korea and Japan has indicated that US crude oil has gained popularity as a raw material option mainly due to business interest, rather than diplomatic factors.
“We have domestic and international investors to be maintained as a public company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange,” said Raw Material Inventory Management Source at the Japanese main refinery. “We respect the government’s diplomatic attitudes and strategies, but the decision to procure crude oil and trade in our raw materials is purely based on the margin of purification and logistics economy.”
US coarse buyers in South Korea, including the Innovation SK and Hanwha Totalenergy, have stated that their purchasing decisions will only be based on raw materials and logistics economics, while the government and KNOC cannot force the main local refineries to buy US crude oil.
Asian refiners are increasingly turning to rough US to diversify supply sources in the midst of geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
The appeal of US crude oil is increasingly supported by the advantages of logistics and high quality. Although the transportation route that is longer than the Bay of US beach to Asia, the availability of VLCC ensures a reliable supply. WTI Midland, in particular, is highly valued because of its ability to maximize the results of medium distillate and is considered more cost -effective, especially given the increase in the official selling price of the Middle East, according to the manager of raw materials at the refineries of South Korea and Japan.
Platts assessed that the spread between WTI Midland and Murban in North Asia CFR in Minus 4 Sen/B on June 30, significantly weakened from the peak of $ 2.51/B on June 4. The last distribution was assessed at $ 1.03/B on July 14.
Source: Platts
