AKIPRESS.COM - South Korean presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said on Tuesday he would travel to Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure supplies of crude oil and naphtha amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports. 

Kang is due to ​depart later on Tuesday as President Lee Jae Myung's special envoy to hold talks with governments, energy ​firms and ship operators to ensure cargoes reach domestic ports and to support stable ⁠supplies of key goods, including medical products, he said.

South Korea urgently needed to diversify supply lines as the ​country relied on the Hormuz route for about 61% of its crude oil and 54% of its naphtha imports, ​he told a press briefing at the presidential Blue House.

Kang said shipments of crude oil and naphtha secured last month from the United Arab Emirates under a 24-million-barrel supply deal had already started arriving at South Korean ports.

While the UAE deal had been ​aimed at easing short-term supply concerns, Kang said his latest trip was focused on securing longer-term supplies, according ​to local media.

The government was also working with international partners to ensure the safe passage of 26 South Korean-flagged vessels currently ‌waiting ⁠inside the Strait of Hormuz, he said.

Kang urged households and businesses to actively take part in energy-saving measures to help the country weather tight supply conditions.

Separately, presidential policy adviser Kim Yong-beom said South Korea had secured about four months' worth of helium supplies for the semiconductor industry, local media reported.

Helium - critical for industries such as semiconductors - ​is a byproduct of liquefied ​natural gas processing.

South Korea ⁠has scrambled to diversify its energy sources in recent weeks, as it imports about 70% of its crude oil from the Middle East, leaving the country highly exposed ​to supply disruptions and sharp price swings.

Yang Ki-wook, director general of the Office ​of Industry, Trade ⁠and Resource Security at the trade ministry, said in a press briefing on Tuesday the government had secured 110 million barrels of alternative crude oil supplies for April and May through 17 countries including Saudi Arabia and the United ⁠States.

That includes ​50 million barrels for April and 60 million barrels for May ​sourced from countries that also include Brazil, Australia, Congo, Gabon and Canada, said Yang. This would bring alternative supplies available to about 60% ​of typical April demand and 70% for May, he said, citing ministry data.