S. Korea to send 'gas' delegation to Turkmenistan

SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will send a delegation of government officials and energy company executives to Turkmenistan this week to help local firms develop natural gas in the central Asian country, the trade ministry said Monday.
The delegation will be in Ashgabat for two days starting Wednesday, with talks aimed at allowing South Korean businesses to play a role in future gas field development projects, the ministry said.
Energy and resources ambassador Kim Eun-seok, who will lead the mission, is expected to hold meetings with top ranking officials from Turkmenistan to facilitate cooperation. Officials from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, in charge of the country's energy policies, will also join the mission.
Besides government officials, executives from state-run Korea Gas Corp. and Korea National Oil Corp. will make up the delegation along with senior managers from Kolon Group interested in the natural gas business.
The country that borders Kazakhstan to the north and the Caspian Sea to the southeast is estimated to have 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, which is the fourth-largest reserve in the world. Gas production accounts for about 50 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
yonngong@yna.co.kr