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S.Korean consortium to explore Iraqi
Kurdistan oilfield
12.11.2007
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November 12, 2007
SEOUL,-- A South Korean consortium led by the
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has secured an
oilfield with an estimated deposit of over 500
million barrels in Kurdistan autonomous region in
'northern Iraq'.
According to KNOC Sunday, the consortium signed a
contract in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan-Iraq, on
exploration and production sharing of the Bazian
oilfield with the Kurdistan Regional Government in
the northeastern part of the Middle East country.
With the first-ever deal in Iraq, South Korea
expects to set up a bridgehead to advance into the
war-devastated country, which boasts the world’s
second-largest oil deposits.
Beside KNOC, which holds a 38-percent stake, several
private energy development firms including, among
others, SK Energy (19 percent) and Daesung,
Samchully, Beuma (9.5 percent wach respectively)
took part in the project. |
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has secured an
oilfield with an estimated deposit of over 500
million barrels in Kurdistan autonomous region in
'northern Iraq'. |
Seated in the Zagros basin, the Bazian oilfield is
located southeast of Irbil, where South Korean
rehabilitation forces are stationed. South Korea
deployed thousands of soldiers, largely medics and
engineers, as part of the U.S.-led coalition in the
Gulf country since 2004.
In January, KNOC signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with the Kurdistan Regional
Government and implemented technical evaluations in
a dozen exploratory oilfields there.
KNOC officials said the consortium would sign a
contract among participating companies for the joint
operation of the oilfield by the end of this year
and set up an office there to make preparations for
future exploration. www.ekurd.net
Currently, they added, the Bazian oilfield is
estimated to have more than 500 million barrels of
crude oil. But a more exact deposit will be
calculated through future exploration activities
scheduled up until 2010.
``We hope that we could secure a crucial bridgehead
to advance into Iraq, which has the second-largest
oil deposits, with the signing of the production
sharing contract,’’ a KNOC spokesman said.
In the meantime, the Kurdistan Regional Government
has been actively pushing for oil exploration
projects. It struck seven new petroleum contracts
with firms from the United States, Britain and India
and also approved five existing contracts last week.
Reuters | koreatimes co.kr
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