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South Korea, Iraqi Kurdistan sign MOU on oil
exploration
14.2.2008
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February 14, 2008
SEOUL, -- A South Korean consortium Thursday
signed an initial agreement to explore oilfields in
Iraqi Kurdistan in return for major construction
projects in the region, officials said.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by
visiting Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
and a consortium led by the state-run Korea National
Oil Corporation (KNOC).
The oilfields are believed to hold one to two
billion barrels compared to South Korea's total
annual imports of some 800 million barrels, a KNOC
spokesman said.
"We expect the deal to greatly contribute to
securing energy sources for South Korea, as well as
laying the ground for entering the construction
market in the war-torn nation," the corporation said
in a statement.
South Korea imports almost all its oil and gas and
is actively seeking worldwide exploration deals and
stakes in foreign energy firms.
The deal, the second of its type in the region, went
ahead despite protests from Iraq's central
government about exploration projects in Kurdistan
which have not been approved by Baghdad.
Iraq last month suspended an annual contract with
South Korea's top oil refiner to export 90,000
barrels a day after Seoul agreed in November with
Kurdistan to explore the Bazian field -- estimated
to contain 500 million barrels.
The latest deal calls for the consortium to build
roads and other public facilities in the autonomous
region in return for obtaining the rights to explore
four oilfields.
President-elect Lee Myung-Bak met Barzani Thursday
and pledged to support economic reconstruction and
development in the Kurdish region and elsewhere in
Iraq.
"I'm convinced Korean enterprises will greatly
support the region's development in the future," Lee
was quoted as telling Barzani at the meeting.
"The Kurdish area is rich in oil resources. I hope
the regional government will continue to give a lot
of business opportunities to Korean companies."
Barzani thanked South Korea for sending troops to
the Kurdish region for reconstruction projects,www.ekurd.net
according to Lee's
aides.
Seoul has about 600 troops stationed there. Under
the current timetable they are due to leave at the
end of this year.
AFP
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