Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said on the 21st that multiple foreign firms participated in the bid to attract investment for the Donghae offshore block.
Earlier, the oil corporation sought firms to carry out an oil and gas development project for about 20,058 square kilometers across four subsea blocks (8NE, 8/6-1W, 6-1E, 6-1S) in the Ulleung Basin from Mar. 21 to the 19th of this month.
The eligibility requirements for overseas firms were as follows: ▲ a company that is promoting a deepwater development project with a daily production of at least 100,000 barrels, or ▲ a company that has conducted a direct cooperation project with the oil corporation within the past three years.
Firms participating in the project can invest equity of up to 49%, and it is known that British Petroleum (BP), a global oil and gas corporation, submitted a bid proposal. Among domestic corporations, there were reportedly no bidders.
The oil corporation plans to select a preferred negotiation partner if there is a suitable investor after reviewing bid proposals through its investment-attraction advisor, S&P Global. After negotiating detailed contract terms with the preferred negotiation partner, it will proceed with signing the concession contract.
Meanwhile, the oil corporation confirmed that one of the seven promising structures, known as "Blue Whale," is not economically viable.
Blue Whale is elongated in an east-west direction across Block 8 and the northern part of Block 6-1. It lies within 50 kilometers east in a straight line from Pohang, North Gyeongsang.
In February, the oil corporation conducted a six-month detailed analysis through U.S. geological structure analysis firm Core Laboratories of samples obtained from drilling in the Blue Whale structure.
Regarding the results, the oil corporation said, "While we generally confirmed favorable subsurface physical properties in terms of the sandstone layer (about 70 meters), cap rock (about 270 meters), and porosity (about 31%), we did not discover recoverable gas." The oil corporation said it will not conduct additional exploration of the Blue Whale structure going forward.