The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea held the third strategy meeting on East Sea deep-sea gas field development on November 27 at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Seoul with the participation of relevant ministries, national policy research institutes, academia, resource institutions, and private companies, where attendees agreed to give final approval on the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC)'s drilling plan for Block 8 and the northern part of Block 6-1 of the gas field, referred to as the “Blue Whale.” They also discussed the investment attraction progress and measures to improve the mining royalty system.


Concerning the mining royalty system reform, the Government has established an amended version of the enforcement ordinances and regulations under the Mineral Resources Development Act and completed the legislative proposal notice and consultations with related ministries in line with plans to finish the amendment process by the year end.


Meanwhile, KNOC has been launching investment briefing sessions for both global and domestic companies since this July and plans to carry out investment attraction strategies following the first borehole drilling.


Upon approval of KNOC’s first borehole drilling plan, a drilling rig will enter Busan Port this December to begin preparations for commencing the two-month drilling process. After analyzing the drilling data, the Korean government plans to announce the first borehole drilling results in the first half of next year.