KNOC to intensify energy security, transition efforts: press

Korea National Oil Company is seeking more oil and gas to address South Korean energy security, while drawing closer to its 2030 net zero objective, Reuters reported June 2.

The news comes on the back of last week's World Gas Conference in the South Korean city of Daegu. In Daegu, KNOC entered talks on a potential carbon capture and storage partnership with unnamed energy companies, company CEO Dong Sub Kim told Reuters.

KNOC will prioritise energy security in the immediate term, he added, but must carefully select upstream investments to ensure it backs the most efficient options.

"As a national oil company, our primary goal is energy security. We are looking to expand exploration and development in both oil and gas strategically so in emergencies we can ship them easily," Kim said. "However, we have to be very careful in selecting appropriate projects, because we need efficient investments."

KNOC owns assets in 17 upstream geographies, but South Korea imported almost all of its oil from overseas in 2020. Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February, and like most of its IOC peers in East Asia and Europe, KNOC wants to shore up oil and gas inflows to avoid disruption, and contain pricing pressures.

KNOC's upstream portfolio includes participation at Tolmount gas field in the UK North Sea, through its subsidiary Dana Petroleum, as well as a partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company that includes the Al Dharfra and Haliba oil concessions.

With regards to the energy transition, KNOC is developing a 400,000 tons/year carbon capture plant for oil refineries and other industrial locations in Ulsan, South Korea. The carbon will be captured and stored at a depleted gas field off Korea's eastern coastline, Kim said. A pilot study of the CCS project could begin in 2026.