FACTBOX: South Korea's recent overseas energy investments

Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:54am EDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has agreed to buy Canada's Harvest Energy Trust (HTE_u.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (HTE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for $1.7 billion, in the country's biggest energy investment.

Followings are the other recent major overseas energy investments by South Korea, the world's No.5 crude oil and No.2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer through KNOC and another state-run company, Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) (036460.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz):

SURGIL PROJECT IN UZBEKISTAN

KOGAS is developing, with the Uzbekistan government, gas fields in Surgil with 96 million tons. It is also building $3 billion worth of gas chemical plants.

ZHAMBYL BLOCK IN KAZAKHSTAN

KNOC and its Korean consortium owns a 27 percent of stake in the Zhambyl block on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

BAZIAN OIL BLOCK IN KURDISTAN, IRAQ

KNOC has stakes in five oil blocks in the Kurdish region, involving exploration for 3.1 billion barrels, or about three times of South Korea's total secured oil reserves as of June, 2009.

KNOC started drilling at the Bazian oil block in semi-autonomous Kurdistan this month, and will start drilling in the Sangaw North block in November, after the Iraqi government agreed to export crude oil from the disputed region.

ZUBAIR BLOCK IN IRAQ

A consortium of South Korea's KOGAS, Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and U.S. firm Occidental (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has won a contract to develop Iraq's Zubair oilfield, the South Korean economy ministry said on Wednesday.

The Zubair oilfield is estimated to have reserves of 3.7 billion barrels, according to the Iraqi authorities, but the consortium expects up to 6.6 billion barrels in reserves, the ministry said in a statement.

LONG-TERM GAS SUPPLY DEAL WITH RUSSIA

KOGAS, the world's biggest corporate buyer of LNG, and Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last year agreed a $90 billion deal to import up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year, a fifth of KOGAS's needs, for 30 years after 2015 through a $3 billion pipeline that would run from Russia's Vladivostok across North Korea, which is technically at war with its wealthy southern neighbor.

OIL FIELD DEAL IN GULF OF MEXICO, U.S.

KNOC and its partner in 2008 acquired crude oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico with 60 million barrels of oil reserves and 17,000 barrels per day production, paying $1.15 billion.

PERU'S PETRO-TECH ACQUISITION

KNOC in February acquired half of Petro-Tech, a privately held oil firm with offshore assets in Peru.

The state-run Korean company has secured a 50 percent stake in the firm, paying $900 million for the company with 150 million barrels of oil reserves and a daily production of 20,000 barrels.

(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Alex Richardson)