By KUNA
Tokyo : South Korea and Russia agreed on a joint feasibility study into the construction of a pipeline that can transport natural gas to Northeast Asia, the South Korean government said Wednesday. The deal reached in Moscow during the natural resources cooperation committee, would open the door for gas produced in Russia’s far east and Siberia to be sent overland to South Korea, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said, according to Yonhap News Agency.
“The Russians explained details about their planned pipeline that can be used to supply gas throughout Siberia and to South Korea and China,” Yonhap quoted a ministry official as saying. The state-run Korea Gas Corp is to conduct technical and economic feasibility studies into the extension of the pipeline, the report said. Once this study is completed details about the route of the pipeline and a contract for its construction can be drawn.
Any gas pipeline would likely run through North Korea, which could fuel cross-border cooperation. The ministry, in addition, said the two sides discussed drilling two exploratory holes in the prospective oil fields off west Kamchatka Peninsula next year.
The field, jointly controlled by South Korean oil developers and Russia’s state-run oil company Rosneft, is estimated to hold 10.3 billion barrels of crude, it said. South Korean companies including Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) GS-Caltex Corp., SK Corp, Daewoo International Corp., Kumho Petrochemical and Hyundai Corp. hold a 40 percent stake, while the rest is owned by Rosneft.