KNOC confirms huge oil

KNOC confirms huge oil field off Russia's Kamchatka penisula

A South Korean consortium led by state-run Korea National Oil Corp. has
confirmed its field in Russia's Kamchatka has an estimated 10 billion barrels
of crude reserves, company officials said Thursday.
The consortium has a 40% stake in the field off the Kamchatka peninsula,
while the remaining 60% interest is controlled by Russia's state-run oil
company Rosneft.
"The estimated oil reserves are much bigger than previously expected," a
KNOC official said. The field was previously estimated to hold up to 3.7
billion barrels of crude.
The size of the deposit was confirmed by an internationally accredited
petroleum exploration company, the official said.
KNOC controls a 50% stake in the South Korean consortium that also
includes state-run Korea Gas Corp. with a 10% interest, GS-Caltex Corp with a
10% stake, SK Corp. with a 10% stake and Daewoo International Corp. with a 10%
interest. Kumho Petrochemical and Hyundai Corp. has a 5% stake, respectively.
KNOC signed a memorandum of understanding on joint development of the
block in Kamchatka in September 2004 when President Roh Moo-Hyun made a state
visit to Russia. In February 2005, KNOC signed an interim finance agreement
for the project, and the consortium acquired the stake ten months later.
KNOC is spearheading upstream oil projects abroad for South Korea. The
country imports all of its crude oil requirements overseas, with more than 80%
of the supplies comes from the Middle East. The state oil company has
designated Kamchatka as the upstream oil development hub in Northeast Asia.
The South Korean government has provided benefits to local companies
involved upstream oil projects in countries other than the Middle East, in an
effort to diversify oil supply sources.