NEWS ANALYSIS
Korean Base-Oil Export Value Jumps 151% as Volume Rises 5.7%
South Korea’s August base-oil export value rose much faster than shipment volume, pointing to higher average export unit values rather than a comparable increase in barrels shipped.
South Korea’s August base-oil export figures provide a revealing look at the pricing pressures that have accompanied this year’s supply disruptions. While export shipments increased only modestly, the value of those shipments rose dramatically.
According to Korea Petroleum Association statistics reported October 7 by Herald Business, South Korea exported $662.87 million of base oil in August, up 151.4% from August 2025. Export volume increased 5.7% to 2.182 million barrels.
JobbersWorld calculates that average export unit value increased approximately 138% year over year, based on the reported changes in export value and volume. August’s average was approximately $303.8 per barrel, consistent with the figure reported by Herald Business.
Compared with February, before the March disruption to Gulf supply, August export volume was 24.5% higher and export value was 230.6% higher. Herald Business reported that average export unit value rose 165.5% from February’s $114.4 per barrel.
South Korea is home to major Group III suppliers, including SK Enmove and S-OIL. But its base-oil industry is not exclusively Group III; S-OIL also produces Group I and Group II base oils.
These are aggregate base-oil export figures, not a Group III-only price series. Average unit values can change with product grades, export destinations and contract mix, as well as prices. The figures therefore should not be read as a like-for-like Group III price increase or as a measure of Korean producers’ realized margins.
Herald Business linked the export gains to disruptions affecting Gulf Group III production and cited brokerage expectations for continued market tightness.
For lubricant buyers, higher export revenue is not the same as greater availability of every grade. The Korean figures are aggregate base-oil exports. They do not show how much of the August increase in export volume was Group III, or whether the barrels buyers actually need became easier to secure. As JobbersWorld reported October 2, a recovery in overall refining activity and a recovery in the particular base stocks lubricant formulators need are different questions.
For U.S. lubricant buyers, the Korean figures are a retrospective indicator of August export economics, not a quotation for fourth-quarter purchases. Current supplier offers, contractual pricing, freight and inventory costs will determine actual acquisition costs. For distributors assessing finished-lubricant price adjustments, the practical question is whether their suppliers are seeing relief in the specific base stocks they need—not simply whether Korean export revenue is rising.
Editor’s note: Korean export values and volumes are from Korea Petroleum Association statistics reported by Herald Business on October 7, 2026. JobbersWorld calculated the approximately 138% year-over-year increase in average export unit value from the published, rounded growth rates and the August unit value from the reported export value and volume. JobbersWorld did not independently obtain the underlying Korean statistical dataset. Export unit values should not be interpreted as Group III-specific price benchmarks, producer margins or current U.S. landed costs.