Lee scolds state-run oil firm over lack of research for offshore fuel project

President Lee Jae Myung scolded top executives Wednesday at the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) for pushing ahead with a project to develop potential oil and gas reserves off the nation's southeastern coast without conducting a proper economic feasibility study. Lee questioned acting KNOC chief executive Choi Moon-gyu about whether the state-run company had calculated the cost of deep-sea drilling for potential oil and gas reserves in the East Sea, which had been pushed under the previous administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. KNOC carried out the first round of exploratory drilling at one of the project sites between December and February, but the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said the results failed to demonstrate the project's economic viability. "In case of gas exploration projects in the East Sea, if production costs are high, there would not be much profitability," Lee said during the briefing in the central administrative city of Sejong. When Choi replied that the company had not calculated development costs because of several variables, Lee pushed back, sayWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times