Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence Energy Threats Expose Korea and Taiwan Chip Hubs
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Mar 25, 2026 Dave Dai, Barclays head of APAC sustainable investing research, and Bum Ki Son, Barclays senior regional economist for Korea and Taiwan, unpack power risks for chipmaking hubs. They map reliance on oil, LNG and chemical gases, quantify reserve vulnerabilities and day-of-peak outage threats. They debate alternatives like nuclear restarts, renewables ramp-up and emergency rationing measures to keep fabs running.
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Strait Of Hormuz Is A Major Energy Choke Point
- The Strait of Hormuz is a critical choke point supplying roughly 70% of crude oil for both South Korea and Taiwan.
- LNG reliance is lower (16–25% via the strait) but still material, making both economies vulnerable to Middle East disruptions.
Semiconductor Firms Are Enormous Electricity Consumers
- Taiwan's tech sector consumes around 25% of the island's electricity and TSMC alone uses roughly 10% of total electricity.
- Korea's top chipmakers (Samsung and SK Hynix) consume about 5% of national energy each, underscoring semiconductor power intensity.
Oil Reserves Look Comfortable But Gas Runs Short Fast
- Taiwan holds ~100+ days of oil reserves and about 11 days of gas; Korea holds ~208 days of oil and about nine days of natural gas.
- Because 15–25% of gas imports transit the Hormuz route, gas tightness could appear within 1.5 months if disruption continues.