Yoon: 14 bn barrels of oil and gas could be buried in Yeongil Bay

“A groundbreaking physical exploration has revealed a significant potential of a substantial amount of oil and gas reserves in the coastal waters of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province,” announced South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday. “I have given my approval to the exploration and drilling plan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The first borehole is scheduled to be drilled by the end of this year, and we anticipate further revelations by the first half of next year,” he added. This marks a significant moment as the president delivers a briefing on a specific current state affair for the first time.

“We have engaged a world-leading deep sea technical assessment company to conduct an extensive physical exploration analysis since February last year, based on the belief that additional oil and gas fields could exist near a gas field in the East Sea,” President Yoon stated during a briefing accompanied by Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk-geun on Monday morning. “We have recently received results indicating a high possibility of up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves, which we are verifying by renowned research institutions and experts.”

“It is over 300 times larger than the gas field found in the East Sea in the late 1990s with gas that can be used for up to 29 years and oil that can be used for up to four years by the entire country,” he said. “As a deep sea oil block, it has more exploration resources than a Guyana block in South America with 11 billion barrels, which is considered the biggest oil development project of the century,” he emphasized. “At least five boreholes should be drilled, each of which cost over 100 billion won.”

The presidential office and the government expect that if South Korea, which has been entirely dependent on oil and gas imports, successfully develops an oilfield, it will be among the oil-producing countries. Its energy supply will be much stabilized. However, it's important to note that experts advise a more prudent approach as there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding the success of oil exploration, ensuring that the public and stakeholders are fully aware of the potential risks involved.


Joo-Young Jeon aimhigh@donga.com