Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 17 -- The UAE and South Korea signed a wide-ranging memorandum of understanding that would commit Abu Dhabi to let South Korean exploration and production companies participate in development of one or more fields with cumulative recoverable reserves of at least 1 billion bbl.
A second area of cooperation involves storage of 6 million bbl of Abu Dhabi crude in South Korea's strategic petroleum reserve.
“The storage arrangements will enhance the energy security of the Republic of Korea, while also giving Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. greater flexibility in supplying customers in the Korean and neighboring markets,” UAE state media reported.
The formal agreement is to be signed in 2012. It also provides South Korean companies purchasing Abu Dhabi crude a first-right of refusal for as much as 300,000 b/d of oil.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
Photo from OKEA.
Rendering from Cedar LNG.
