Kuwait’s KPC announced on 13 June that it has signed an MoU with Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) to store 4mn barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil at the South Korean refining hub of Ulsan, “strengthening strategic storage near vital Asian markets.” There are a number of such agreements between major Gulf producers and large Asian buyers. KPC for instance also has an agreement to store 3.14mn barrels of crude oil at Kiire, Japan (MEES, 4 December 2020). South Korea is the second largest destination for Kuwaiti crude oil, receiving 270,000 b/d in 2023 (MEES, 19 January).