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 percent 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.
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