President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 3rd that "physical survey results indicate a high possibility of a massive amount of oil and gas deposits in the offshore area of Yeongil Bay, Pohang, Gyeongbuk."
On the morning of the same day, President Yoon held his first national briefing since taking office at the Yongsan Presidential Office and stated, "Recent results show a very high possibility of oil and gas deposits amounting to 14 billion barrels, and these findings have been verified by leading research institutions and experts."
President Yoon explained, "Since our government took office, in February last year, we judged that there is a high possibility of more oil and gas fields around the East Sea gas field, and entrusted a world-class deep-sea technology evaluation company with an in-depth physical survey analysis."
He continued, "This is more than 300 times the size of the East Sea gas field discovered in the late 1990s, and it is estimated that the entire country could use natural gas for up to 29 years and oil for up to 4 years."
President Yoon approved the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's exploration drilling plan that day, saying, "From now on, it is time to move on to the exploration drilling stage to confirm whether oil and gas actually exist and to determine the actual scale of the deposits."
He added, "The world's top energy development companies are already showing interest. After preparatory work, the first drilling operation will begin by the end of this year, and some results are expected by the first half of next year. I hope the public will calmly observe the drilling results."
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