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 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.
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.
"The 1.5 million tons of gas is expected to be increased to 7.5 million tons
starting in 2017," said a government official.
He added that if the planned construction of a pipeline linking South Korea and
Russia is completed, the size of imports could be increased further.
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 38 billion tons of natural gas, 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.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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