U.S. crude oil made up 20.5% of South Korea's oil imports in the first half of this year, the first time its share has exceeded 20% on a half-year basis, as conflict-linked disruptions in the Middle East pushed Seoul to diversify supply routes. South Korea imported 467.12 million barrels of crude, down 8% from a year earlier, while the import bill still rose 8.1% to $41.37 billion because global oil prices increased. Saudi Arabia remained the largest supplier at 30.5% with 142.47 million barrels, down from 33.1% a year earlier, while U.S. imports reached 95.87 million barrels, up from a 16.5% share. The United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait followed, with the UAE gaining share as Fujairah offered a route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Regionally, the Middle East's share of South Korea's crude imports fell to 62.3% from 68.7%, while the Americas, Africa and Asia all gained ground. Refined petroleum products moved differently: export volumes fell 7.5% to 226.23 million barrels because of restrictions on key product exports, but export value climbed 36.5% to $28.174 billion as prices rose, including a 54% year-on-year jump in June export unit prices. Petroleum product export value equaled 68.1% of crude import value in the first half, a record on a half-year basis and well above 54% a year earlier and 60.7% in the previous half.