韓国、UAEの油田開発権を獲得…世界５番目の快挙
韓国が米国、英国、フランス、日本に続いて世界で５番目にアラブ首長国連邦（ＵＡＥ）油田開発事業に本格進出する。
知識経済部は５日、ＵＡＥアブダビで韓国コンソーシアム（韓国石油公社・ＧＳエネルギー）とＵＡＥ国営石油会社アブダビ石油公社（ＡＤＮＯＣ）が、３カ所の未開発鉱区油田開発に関する本契約を締結した、と明らかにした。
韓国コンソーシアムは全体の４０％を出資し、陸上鉱区２カ所と海上鉱区１カ所を３０年間にわたり開発・運営することになる。
契約対象鉱区は開発開始直前の油田で、賦存量は５億７０００万バレルと評価されている。
趙石（チョ・ソク）知識経済部第２次官は「３月から事業に着手し、早ければ２０１４年から一部で生産を開始できると見込んでいる」とし「生産期間中は３カ所の油田で一日最大４万３０００バレルの生産が可能」と予想した。
投資額は５０億ドルで、韓国コンソーシアムは２０億ドルを負担する。
March 6, 2012 gulfnews
Koreans to develop Abu Dhabi oil fields
South Korea has signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company (Adnoc) to develop three new oil fields.
The joint venture, under which Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) will take a
40 per cent stake with Adnoc retaining 60 per cent, is an attempt by the Asian
powerhouse to secure oil resources, the country's leader said on Monday.
"We now have our own oil reserves in the Middle East," South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak said in a statement. "Through this, stable crude supply to us is
more guaranteed, and our energy security taken a big step forward."
The project involves two onshore and one offshore field that could take several
years to produce oil, but is one of the first times that a non-European or
American partner has waded into oil exploration and production in the Gulf.
The Korean consortium, made up of KNOC and another firm, GS Energy, is expected
to invest $2 billion (Dh7 billion) of the estimated $5 billion total cost of
developing the fields, the Korean government said in a statement.
General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy
Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, yesterday said the agreement comes
within the framework of distinguished bilateral relations and strategic
partnership between the UAE and South Korea, and expressed his aspirations for
further cooperation.
The deal gives South Korea access to fields with combined reserves of at least
570 million barrels of oil, to which Seoul has previously said it would have
exclusive rights if other oil supply sources were disrupted.
Crude oil production is expected to begin in 2014, if the development starts as
planned this month, and could rise to 43,000 barrels per day, Reuters reported
yesterday.
Analysts told Gulf News yesterday that the deal was a significant coup for South
Korea, but dismissed suggestions that it could shed light on how Abu Dhabi will
choose to respond when two of its major concessions end in the coming years.
The end of the onshore Adco and Adma Opco concessions, which come in 2014 and
2018 respectively, have been closely watched by oil companies that hope Abu
Dhabi will open the door to access to the region's reserves - previously
dominated by western oil companies.
"I don't think that this is a clue for what they will do [when the concessions
end]," said Samuel Ciszuk, an oil analyst at KBC Process Technology in London.
"Abu Dhabi obviously sees this is an opportunity to build a very strong
relationship with South Korea and clearly the leadership of Abu Dhabi feels very
comfortable with the leadership of South Korea."
Ciszuk added that the move was especially interesting as it marked a shift away
from the traditional relationship in the oil and gas industry between the Gulf
states and Europe, the UK and the US.
"Asia is very important for the Gulf states and the UAE in particular because it
has been exporting most of its crude to Asian countries for some time," he said.
The deal comes just weeks after Abu Dhabi and South Korea signed a wide ranging
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and soon after Kepco, the Korean energy
giant, was granted the contract to build four nuclear reactors in the UAE.
GS Energy will have a six per cent stake in the 40 per cent Korean section of
the joint venture.