Like have always said, 2,300 Korean businessmen would do more for Iraq then the 2,300 Korean soldiers they sent:
South Korea, Asia’s third-biggest oil buyer, agreed to explore for petroleum in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and help to build power plants and water and sewage facilities there.
Korea National Oil Corp. signed production-sharing contracts today for the Qush Tappa and Sangaw South blocks with the Kurdish regional government and agreed to buy stakes in six other oil blocks, the Anyang-based state-run company said in an e-mailed statement. The oil developer plans to spend $2.1 billion to build the infrastructure projects.
The final contracts were delayed after a preliminary agreement signed in June. South Korean construction companies interested in building the infrastructure projects found it difficult to raise money because of political uncertainty in Iraq, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Aug. 17.
South Korea imports almost all its energy needs and is stepping up efforts alongside China and Japan to garner stakes in overseas oil fields to secure supplies. Iraq needs money to rebuild the nation and its oil infrastructure following years of war and economic sanctions.
A group led by Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. had planned to join the infrastructure project. Korea National Oil will organize a new group of construction companies or raise the money alone, the company said.
Infrastructure costing $600 million will be built first and the rest will be constructed when oil from the blocks is exported. [Bloomberg]
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