S. Korea, Mongolia agree to develop coalbed methane gas

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Mongolia agreed Tuesday to jointly
develop coalbed methane (CBM) gas that could lead to wide-scale use of the
resource, the government said.
The deal, reached at a meeting of the bilateral resource cooperation committee on
Jeju Island off South Korea's southern coast, calls for exploration, drilling and
commercial development of CBMs in the land-locked Asian country, the Ministry of
Knowledge Economy said.
It said the state-run Korea Gas Corp. will process CBMs and make them into
eco-friendly dimethyl ether (DME) that will be supplied to Mongolia.
The fuel characteristics of DMEs are similar to liquefied petrolatum gas. If
wide-scale production can be carried out, overall cost can fall off sharply,
making it a viable alternative to other types of fuel.
Mongolia is estimated to have large deposits of coal and other energy resources.
The ministry, meanwhile, called on Ulan Bator to allow a South Korean consortium
to take part in the development of the Tavan Tolgoi mine, estimated to hold 1.4
billion tons of coal.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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