S Korea develops energy vision to meet demand

10 June 2008 09:18  [Source: ICIS news]

KUALA LUMPUR (ICIS news)--South Korea has developed a set of energy visions in response to the surge in crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) values, said Young-Jin Yoon, Director for gas industry of the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy on Tuesday.

"Korea is currently the tenth in the list of energy consuming countries. This is set to grow 2.1%/year to 2020 with oil, coal and gas maintaining their positions as the largest sources of energy," he added at the 13^th Asia Oil and Gas Conference.

The nation’s overseas energy dependency has grown from 73.5% in 1980 to 96.5% in 2006 with a net worth of $85.6bn.

"Thus, it is now critical that we develop a set of visions and principles to ensure that growth will be sustained and uninterrupted," Yoon added.

South Korea planned to supply one-third of the domestic consumption through self-developed energy sources by 2030. This would be done through expansive supply of renewable energy.

It also planned to reduce consumption of energy through improved management of total demand, which would in turn reduce the dependency of the country’s economy on oil.

Over 44% of South Korea’s total energy requirements in 2005 were met by oil. The new vision intended to bring that level down to 35% by 2030.

"Korea’s natural gas demand is also set to increase from 25m tonnes/year to 40m tonnes/year by 2020. It is also crucial that we secure stable sources, raise competitiveness and the continuing exploration of LNG supplies in response to the expected growth in demand," he said.

The AOGC is an industry-wide forum and runs from 8-10 June.

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By: Bohan Loh
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