Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk expressed his strong support on the 3rd for the government’s announcement of the ‘Magwi Shark Project,’ a follow-up to the Daewang Whale Project.
Governor Lee stated, “The Daewang Whale Project must be carried out without disruption regardless of political factions or administrations, as it is crucial for energy security in response to the global supply chain crisis. The government must allocate the related budget in the first supplementary budget.”
The Magwi Shark Project is a promising structure derived from the results of the ‘Additional Prospectivity Evaluation Service for the Domestic Ulleung Basin’ conducted by the government and the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC). According to KNOC’s announcement, based on the prospectivity evaluation by the U.S. deep-sea technology assessment company Actgeo, a total of 14 additional promising structures were discovered in the East Sea Ulleung Basin. The newly discovered exploratory resource volume ranges from a minimum of 680 million barrels to a maximum of 5.17 billion barrels.
It was revealed that after further verification by experts, the exploratory resource volume in the East Sea deep sea could increase to a total maximum of 19.1 billion barrels, adding to the previously announced maximum of 14 billion barrels from the Daewang Whale Project last year.
So far, Gyeongbuk Province has proactively responded to the government’s Daewang Whale Project by constructing a plant in the Yeongilman area to process the oil and gas produced from the project. Furthermore, they are promoting a feasibility study to realize the Yeongilman Global Energy Hub concept, including an LNG terminal and hydrogen industry infrastructure.
Gyeongbuk Province has proposed creating an ‘Energy Investment Fund’ to provide seed money for private investment and collaborating with the Korea National Oil Corporation to ensure the smooth progress of the Daewang Whale Project, aiming to realize a locally led oil-producing country.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, “I hope the government’s deep-sea gas field development will serve as an opportunity to contribute to stable economic growth and resource security for the nation, and that Gyeongbuk Province will continue its voyage to realize the dream of becoming an oil-producing country.” He reiterated, “Since large-scale gas promising structures have been discovered not only in Daewang Whale but also in Magwi Shark, the government’s supplementary budget must be secured.”
He added, “Since the deep-sea oil field development project is expected to have significant ripple effects not only on the nation but also on the regional economy, the central and local governments must take the lead beyond political factions and administrations, and work together with the private sector to ensure smooth progress.”
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