Gov't to introduce crude oil swap system with private companies for supply stabilization

The government will operate a crude oil swap system with private companies starting Tuesday in a bid to help oil refineries secure alternative oil supplies and minimize supply disruptions, the industry ministry said. Under the system, set to run over the next two months, the government will lend some of its oil reserves, mostly Middle Eastern crude, to oil refineries and later restore the stock with alternative supplies secured by the companies. The system will help the companies maintain stable stock despite a delay in supplies due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war, while ultimately postponing the release of the government's strategic oil reserves, the last line of defense in crude oil supply, as long as possible, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. "Such a system is used for currency swaps," Yang Ghi-wuk, deputy minister for trade, industry and resource security, said in a regular briefing, stressing that the government has "been very inflexible in its operation of oil reserves." "Since we are in a crisis, we decided to operate

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