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Untapped UAE oil fields estimated to hold over 500 million barrels
The three oil fields in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that South Korean companies are entitled to develop are estimated to hold more than 500 million barrels of oil, the commerce minister here said Friday.
Early last year, the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul giving South Korean firms the rights to develop the fields in Abu Dhabi. Both sides recently agreed they will conclude the main contract next month.
"The size of those oil fields is really huge as they make up about 11 per cent of the whole of Abu Dhabi," Commerce Minister Hong Suk-woo said in a meeting with reporters Thursday.
His comments including the estimation of the amount of oil reserves there were embargoed until Friday.
The oil development deal with the UAE has been touted as the largest ever for South Korea, and was potentially valued at around 110 trillion won (US$98 billion).
South Korea has been seeking to secure sufficient oil supplies as it depends heavily on imports for its energy needs. Seoul is the world's fifth-largest crude oil importer and does not produce a single drop itself.
Meanwhile, the minister in charge of commerce, energy and trade policies forecast South Korea would return to a "very small" trade surplus in February, following a January shortfall.
The country posted a trade deficit of about $2 billion last month as the toughening external market conditions led to a drop in exports, according to latest customs data. The shortfall was the first in two years.
Lanka Business Report
The three oil fields in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that South Korean companies are entitled to develop are estimated to hold more than 500 million barrels of oil, the commerce minister here said Friday.
Early last year, the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul giving South Korean firms the rights to develop the fields in Abu Dhabi. Both sides recently agreed they will conclude the main contract next month.
"The size of those oil fields is really huge as they make up about 11 per cent of the whole of Abu Dhabi," Commerce Minister Hong Suk-woo said in a meeting with reporters Thursday.
His comments including the estimation of the amount of oil reserves there were embargoed until Friday.
The oil development deal with the UAE has been touted as the largest ever for South Korea, and was potentially valued at around 110 trillion won (US$98 billion).
South Korea has been seeking to secure sufficient oil supplies as it depends heavily on imports for its energy needs. Seoul is the world's fifth-largest crude oil importer and does not produce a single drop itself.
Meanwhile, the minister in charge of commerce, energy and trade policies forecast South Korea would return to a "very small" trade surplus in February, following a January shortfall.
The country posted a trade deficit of about $2 billion last month as the toughening external market conditions led to a drop in exports, according to latest customs data. The shortfall was the first in two years.
Lanka Business Report