South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday gave the go-ahead to exploratory drilling of possible oil and gas reserve he said could potentially contain as much as 14 billion barrels of the commodities.
Drilling would begin later this year in the East Sea, off the coast of Pohang, and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-Geun said results were expected to come out at the start of 2025, adding that the reserves could be worth as much as $1.65 trillion.
South Korea is a major importer of energy, and the reserves would be enough to cover its oil needs for four years and gas for 29 years, Yoon said at a rare briefing.
The country has been seeking out underwater oil and gas fields and in the late 1990s discovered 45 million barrels of gas in the East Sea.
"As a deep-sea mine, it can be seen as a larger exploration resource than the 11 billion barrels of the Guyana mine in South America, which is considered the largest oil development project of this century," Yoon said.
"From now on, it is time to move on to the exploratory drilling stage to see if oil and gas actually exist and how large the store is," he added.
The government estimates that about three-quarters of the reserves are gas and a quarter are oil.
Ahn said: "If the actual storage is confirmed, we will prepare a commercial spending plan and construction will begin by 2027 to 2028."
"We are thinking that commercial development could begin by 2035."
The news sent South Korean energy firms soaring, with Korea Gas Corporation, Dong Yang Steel Pipe and Heung Gu Oil up around 30 per cent, while SK Gas advanced more than 10 per cent.
