“Save Every Drop Of Fuel”: South Korea Tells Citizens To Conserve, Ride Public Transit Amid Energy Shock

The Gulf energy shock is now hitting Asian economies with full force.

In Seoul, President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged citizens to “save every drop of fuel,” a new sign policymakers are moving quickly into crisis mode as the U.S.-Iran conflict raises the risk of nasty fuel shortages across some of Asia’s most energy- and Hormuz-dependent economies.

Lee told lawmakers in a parliamentary address about the urgent need to conserve fuel. He warned that the Middle East crisis has triggered one of the worst energy shocks ever.

“I earnestly appeal to all citizens to actively participate in energy-saving movements in daily lives, such as taking public transportation and conserving electricity,” Lee said.

He added, “The current crisis is not a passing shower that quickly subsides, but rather a massive storm whose duration is uncertain, making it all the more severe.”

South Korea is trying to offset a collapse in energy imports from the Gulf region, with the Hormuz chokepoint still disrupted as the U.S.-Iran conflict enters its second month.

Lee’s government proposed a $17 billion emergency program to cushion households and businesses against fuel price shock.

Seoul has already imposed a fuel price cap, expanded fuel tax cuts, and moved to secure alternative supplies of key petrochemicals such as naphtha, as well as urea for fertilizer.

Seoul also announced it will delay the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and has lifted caps on coal-fired electricity, as coal switching across Asia goes into high gear to offset losses in Gulf energy flows.

In South Asia, India has told coal-fired power plants to crank up power generation. 

Australian officials asked citizens to trade their cars for public transport to conserve fuel. Fuel shortages in the country have become visible in recent weeks because it is highly exposed to Gulf energy flows.

Last month, China halted refined fuel exports to the region to preempt a potential fuel shortage.

JPMorgan analysts recently explained that the energy shockwave from the Iran war is already hitting Asia, with Africa next, then Europe, and shortly thereafter the U.S., especially West Coast states.

The disruption of petrochemical production in the Gulf region has also sparked a global plastics supply crisis. To note, China is the world’s largest plastic consumer and producer.

Which country will be next to declare a fuel crisis and urge citizens to take public transportation?