1. Reason for revision

With the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act (Law No. 20201, promulgated on February 6, 2024, implemented on August 7, 2024) revised to support production and use of eco-friendly alternative fuels in order to achieve carbon neutrality, the aim is to prescribe legally delegated matters such as kinds of eco-friendly refined raw materials, supply/demand situation, and time/method to report the details of use in detail and to improve/supplement some insufficiencies found in the operation of current legislation such as improvement of systems in relation to the registration of alternative fuel production and import/export business and expansion of subjects for mobile petroleum sales.

2. Main contents

A. Expansion of petroleum retailers for mobile sales (Article 2-2 of the Draft)

Firefighting vehicles for emergency rescue and disaster situations are permitted as subjects for mobile sales of petroleum retailers.

B. Establishment of kinds of eco-friendly refined raw materials (Article 2-3 of the Draft)

Wastes that may be reused as raw materials of petroleum or petrochemical products under the Wastes Control Act and bio resources that may be used as raw materials of bio energy under the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use, and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy are designated as eco-friendly refined raw materials.

C. Establishment of provision on oil types to be handled by alternative fuel retailers (Article 3-2 of the Draft)

Emulsified fuel oil is designated as the oil type to be handled by alternative fuel retailers.

D. Deletion of provision on the additional designation of alternative fuels (Article 3-3 of the Draft)

Deletion of Article 3-3 on the additional designation of bio heavy oil as alternative fuel

E. Improvement of systems in relation to the production and import/export business of alternative fuels (Article 37.4 and Article 37.5)

The quality test report is deleted from the documents to be submitted for conditional registration of production and import/export business of alternative fuels, and “performance evaluation” is changed to “quality evaluation.”

F. Establishment of time and method of reporting the details of use of eco-friendly refined raw materials (Article 45-3 and Form 53 of the Draft)

Oil refinery operators shall report the details of use of eco-friendly refined raw materials to the Korea Petroleum Quality and Distribution Authority and, if eco-friendly refined raw materials are inputted for the first time or changed, shall report such fact within 30 days including the details of use in the previous year once a year (March 31).

G. Expanded sampling methods for petroleum products and alternative fuels (Table 4 and Table 7)

If the sampling method is not prescribed in KS (Korean Industrial Standards) for the quality inspection of petroleum products or alternative fuels, samples may be collected with the approval of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.

H. Establishment of liability to report the supply/demand situation of eco-friendly refined raw materials (Table 8 of the Draft)

Oil refinery operators shall report the supply/demand situation of eco-friendly refined raw materials to Korea National Oil Corporation until the 15th of each month, and Korea National Oil Corporation shall notify the Korea Petroleum Quality and Distribution Authority of the reported content.

I. Establishment of produced oil types in the matters for registration of changes in the production and import/export business of alternative fuels (Article 28 and Form 30 of the Appendix)

Addition of produced oil types in the application for (conditional) registration of producers and importers/exporters of alternative fuels and in the application for registration of changes thereof