British Oil Company BP Provisionally Selected as Preferred Bidder for East Sea Gas Field

Second Exploratory Drilling Expected Next Year

Yonhap News Agency

It has been reported that British energy company BP (British Petroleum) has been selected as the preferred bidder for the joint development of deep-sea gas fields in the East Sea.

According to industry sources on October 20, Korea National Oil Corporation recently completed its evaluation of overseas partners for the deep-sea gas field projects in the Donghae 6-1 and 8 blocks, and internally decided to designate BP as the preferred bidder. The official notification process is still underway, and the final decision will be made after subsequent procedures, including a review by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and approval by the board of directors.

Korea National Oil Corporation stated, "We have completed the technical evaluation of bid proposals submitted by companies participating in the offshore block investment attraction tender in the East Sea. We plan to announce the results of the preferred bidder selection after consultations with relevant agencies."

Major global oil majors, including BP and ExxonMobil, are said to have participated in this tender. Korea National Oil Corporation conducted the bidding process under the condition of allowing up to a 49% equity investment, aiming to minimize its financial burden while securing the technical expertise of foreign companies with extensive deep-sea development experience.

BP reportedly proposed the highest equity stake among the participating companies and submitted a detailed roadmap covering the development phase following the second exploration drilling, earning the highest overall evaluation score.

If BP signs the main contract, the second exploration drilling is expected to begin next year.

Meanwhile, Korea National Oil Corporation conducted the first drilling in the "Daewhango-rae promising structure" of the East Sea deep-sea area from December last year to February this year. However, a detailed analysis of the collected samples found a low gas content, leading to the assessment that commercial production would be difficult. As a result, the project was temporarily suspended due to "lack of economic viability."