ID :
46236
Wed, 02/18/2009 - 14:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46236
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S. Korea to import Russian natural gas starting in April
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will bring in 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year from Russia starting in April to ensure a steady supply of the vital fuel resource, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the 20-year import deal with Sakhalin
Energy, which recently began operating a new LNG refining plant, will also reduce
the country's dependence on gas from the Middle East and Southeast Asian
countries.
Reliance on a few countries has weakened Seoul's bargaining position, leading to
sharp price fluctuations.
The gas will come from the "Sakhalin 2" project that refines gas from two
offshore fields east of the island. Of the 9.6 million tons of gas that can be
produced annually, almost all will be sold to South Korea and Japan. The project
is jointly owned by Russia's state-run Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi.
The ministry in charge of industrial and energy policies added that because it
takes just three days for a LNG tanker to reach the country from Sakhalin, the
new arrangement will greatly reduce transportation costs and can help the country
better meet any spikes in demand.
A tanker from the Middle East usually takes 15 days to reach South Korea, while a
week is needed for gas arriving from Southeast Asia.
"Because the LNG arrangement is being followed independently of the proposed
pipeline linking South Korea and Russia, the overall size of imports could be
greatly increased in the future," said Chae Hee-bong, head of the ministry's gas
industry division said.
The official said that if the pipeline is built, more than 7.5 million tons of
Russian gas can be brought into the country per year from 2017 onwards.
South Korea is one of the largest consumers of natural gas in the world,
importing 7.8 million tons for home heating alone, with more being spent on power
generation and various fuel needs.
Russia, which has an estimated natural gas reserve of 38 billion tons, wants to
sell the resource to fuel its economy. In 2007, Moscow approved its Eastern Gas
Program, calling for $28 billion to be spent to link the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk,
Yakutsk and Sakhalin gas fields into a unified gas supply system (UGSS).
The UGSS pipeline network could be used in concert with gas liquefaction
facilities to allow Russia to export LNG to Japan and the vast North American
market down the road.
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will bring in 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year from Russia starting in April to ensure a steady supply of the vital fuel resource, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the 20-year import deal with Sakhalin
Energy, which recently began operating a new LNG refining plant, will also reduce
the country's dependence on gas from the Middle East and Southeast Asian
countries.
Reliance on a few countries has weakened Seoul's bargaining position, leading to
sharp price fluctuations.
The gas will come from the "Sakhalin 2" project that refines gas from two
offshore fields east of the island. Of the 9.6 million tons of gas that can be
produced annually, almost all will be sold to South Korea and Japan. The project
is jointly owned by Russia's state-run Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi.
The ministry in charge of industrial and energy policies added that because it
takes just three days for a LNG tanker to reach the country from Sakhalin, the
new arrangement will greatly reduce transportation costs and can help the country
better meet any spikes in demand.
A tanker from the Middle East usually takes 15 days to reach South Korea, while a
week is needed for gas arriving from Southeast Asia.
"Because the LNG arrangement is being followed independently of the proposed
pipeline linking South Korea and Russia, the overall size of imports could be
greatly increased in the future," said Chae Hee-bong, head of the ministry's gas
industry division said.
The official said that if the pipeline is built, more than 7.5 million tons of
Russian gas can be brought into the country per year from 2017 onwards.
South Korea is one of the largest consumers of natural gas in the world,
importing 7.8 million tons for home heating alone, with more being spent on power
generation and various fuel needs.
Russia, which has an estimated natural gas reserve of 38 billion tons, wants to
sell the resource to fuel its economy. In 2007, Moscow approved its Eastern Gas
Program, calling for $28 billion to be spent to link the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk,
Yakutsk and Sakhalin gas fields into a unified gas supply system (UGSS).
The UGSS pipeline network could be used in concert with gas liquefaction
facilities to allow Russia to export LNG to Japan and the vast North American
market down the road.
