S. Korea, Vietnam to conduct joint underseas mineral resources exploration

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Tuesday it will pursue a joint mineral
exploration project with Vietnam in waters off the Southeast Asian country's
shores.
An agreement on the venture calls for the state-run Korea Institute of Geoscience
and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and the Vietnam Administration for Seas and Islands
to search for potential offshore resources, Seoul's Ministry of Knowledge Economy
said.
The deal was reached at a bilateral natural resources cooperation committee
meeting on the South Korean island of Jeju, where a special Korea-ASEAN summit is
being held, and outlines plans to survey Vietnam's northern Kahu Loc region in
Bac Can Province.
The ministry, which is in charge of Korea's industrial and resources management
policy, said that both sides have agreed on the need to expand production of the
11-2 and 15-1 oil and gas fields in Vietnam. Both are partially owned by a
handful of South Korean firms including Korea National Oil Corp.
The 15-1 field produces 120,000 barrels of oil and gas per day, with South Korean
companies entitled to 27,700 of those. The 11-2 field generates 40,000 barrels on
average every day with 75 percent belonging to South Korean developers.
Seoul has asked Hanoi to reconsider the levying of environmental taxes on the
production of energy resources at the 15-1 field.
The South Korean government has also asked Vietnamese policymakers to consider
buying South Korean-built nuclear reactors to meet the country's future energy
needs. Vietnam plans to build two 1,000 megawatt reactors by 2020.
In addition, the ministry said state-operated Mine Reclamation Corp. is expected
to take part in environmental protection work around the Halong Bay region in
northeastern part of Vietnam.
The scenic region draws large number of tourists and is also home to 80 percent
of the country's operational mineral mines, fueling the need for significant
reclamation work.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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