S. Korea mulls undersea pipeline to import Russian gas

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may consider laying an undersea pipeline
to import natural gas from Russia's Far East if plans to bring the resource
through North Korea fall through, the government said Tuesday.

Feasibility studies to transport the gas through North Korea are ongoing and
expected to conclude by year's end, but alternatives are also being explored, the
Ministry of Knowledge Economy and state-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) said.
The plan is a follow up to an agreement reached last year between KOGAS and
Russia's state-run Gazprom, under which South Korea will import 7.5 million tons
of natural gas beginning in 2015.
Gazprom President Alexei Miller arrived in Seoul on Monday to discuss the details
of shipping the gas from Russia.
The ministry, which is in charge of the country's industrial and energy resource
policies, said that the original plan to build and overland pipeline remains
valid, but recent developments including Pyongyang's nuclear test and long-range
rocket launch, along with the resulting U.N sanctions against the North, may
cause problems.
Alternatives include sending the gas from the Russian port city of Vladivostok
through pipelines under the East Sea to a new natural gas storage facility being
built in Samcheok, a coastal city about 300 km east of Seoul.
KOGAS and Gazprom are also reviewing the possibility of turning the gas into
liquefied natural gas (LNG) and bringing it by ship. Seoul has been importing LNG
from Russia via ship since April.
South Korea is a major consumer of natural gas and is making efforts to diversify
its import sources, which mainly comprise nations in Southeast Asia and the
Middle East.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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