South Korea's trade minister visits Qatar, reconfirms priority LNG supply

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan visited Qatar on Sunday during a three-country Middle East tour aimed at stabilizing South Korea's oil and gas supply, reconfirming that Qatar will prioritize liquefied natural gas deliveries to South Korea.

Kim met at QatarEnergy's headquarters with Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi, the state-owned energy company's CEO and Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Qatar is South Korea's third-largest source of LNG imports. In April, presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik visited Qatar as President Lee Jae Myung's special envoy for strategic economic cooperation and secured a pledge from King Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that Qatari LNG supplies would flow without disruption once the Strait of Hormuz returned to normal operations.

With the Middle East war moving toward an end, Kim used the meeting with Al-Kaabi to reconfirm Qatar's unchanged commitment to giving South Korea top priority for LNG and condensate supplies, the ministry said.

Condensate is an ultra-light crude oil produced alongside natural gas, and South Korea sources most of its condensate imports from Qatar.

Kim also asked Al-Kaabi to actively support South Korean companies in securing contracts for new energy plant projects expected to accelerate once the conflict ends, citing their strong technical capabilities.

In addition, Kim held talks with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Qatar's minister of commerce and industry, and the two sides agreed to expand cooperation beyond energy into shipbuilding, advanced industries and other sectors.

To that end, the two countries agreed to convene the Korea-Qatar High-Level Strategic Consultative Council — a cross-ministry, minister-level cooperation channel — in Doha in the near future to move concrete cooperation projects forward at pace.

"The strong trust and cooperation between South Korea and Qatar carries great importance for stable energy supply amid growing uncertainty in the international situation," Kim said. "We will strengthen energy security on the foundation of stable LNG supply, while further developing cooperation into future growth areas such as advanced industries and investment."