SKorea group to continue Kurdistan project despite Iraqi threat

SEOUL (AFP) – State-run Korea National Oil Corp said Wednesday it would not abandon an exploration project in Iraqi Kurdistan despite threats by the central Iraqi government to cut off oil supplies to South Korea.

“There is no change in our position to go ahead with the project,” Jang Soo-Bum, an official in charge of exploration projects, told AFP.


The corporation is part of a South Korean consortium which last month signed a deal with the Kurdistan government to explore the Bazian field, which is estimated to hold 500 million barrels of crude oil.

The energy ministry confirmed that Baghdad has threatened to stop crude oil exports to South Korea because it had not authorised the Kurdistan deal.

AFP