|
Korea may have found a future source of energy with the recent discovery of gas hydrates in the deep waters of the East Sea.
Gas hydrates are a solid source of energy found in the polar regions and in the deep seas, formed from a mixture of natural gas and water in low temperatures and high pressure. It looks like dry ice on the outside and because it burns when it is fired, it is sometimes referred to as "burning ice."
Lee Jae-hoon, vice minister for energy with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said on Sunday that a government gas hydrate development team on research vessel Tamhae II on Tuesday found the deposits 100 km south of Ulleung Island and 135 km northeast of Pohang.
According to the ministry, the discovery spot is within Korean waters and there is little possibility of any dispute with Japan over the location.
The ministry said a geological sample was drilled from the sea bed 2,072 meters below the surface of the water. The drilling penetrated 7.8 meters below the sea floor, and the sample revealed sporadic gas hydrates from 6.5 meters on, with a 2-cm thick layer on the bottom. Korea has become the fifth country to extract gas hydrates from deep seas, after the U.S., Japan, India and China.
The ministry believes there are about 10 trillion tons of gas hydrates buried in the world, and about 600 million tons buried within Korean waters. That is enough to meet 30 years of domestic gas demand.
Korea imports about 23 million tons of natural gas a year at a cost of around US$12 billion.
The government in July 2005 formed a gas hydrate development team with the Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea Gas Corporation, and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. The team has been conducting surveys in the East Sea.
The government plans to invest W225.7 billion (1US$=W937) until 2014 in gas hydrate exploration and technology development, and hopes to begin production in earnest from 2015.
Vice Minister Lee said five deep water locations in the East Sea will be chosen from 14 candidate spots where drilling will begin in earnest this September. The drilling should provide detailed information on the amount of resources in the areas.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
