Britain's BP tapped as preferred bidder for Korea's deep-sea gas project: sources

The Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) has tapped British oil major BP as the preferred bidder for Korea's project to develop oil and gas prospects in the East Sea, industry sources said Monday. KNOC reached the internal decision last week and is in talks with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources before officially announcing the bidding result, according to the sources familiar with the matter. The Korean company opened the bid in March to find a foreign partner who will have up to 49 percent of the stake in the project aimed at developing seven potential oil and gas reserves in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. KNOC conducted its first exploratory drilling into the "blue whale prospect," one of the seven prospects, for nearly two months since December and concluded the prospect does not have economic feasibility. KNOC earlier said it will newly establish a business plan for the deep-sea gas development project after it selects a preferred bidder, including whether to conduct an additional exploratory drilling of the potential reserves.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times