South Korea plans to build a five million-barrel oil storage facility by the end of 2009, according to a senior official with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC).
Kwan-Seop Kim, executive vice president for petroleum stockpile and marketing, said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires that the project would be a joint venture between KNOC, foreign firms and local private companies.
"Already, there are many companies that have expressed interest in participating," he said, including Glencore International AG.
South Korea plans to build the facility in Yeosu in the south of the country, and to ship oil products from the port to other northeast Asian countries and the U.S. West Coast.
A major oil storage facility in South Korea could make an impact in trading patterns in the regional oil-based energy markets, at present dominated by Singapore.
If the first phase of KNOC's project succeeds, the facility's capacity could be expanded to 28 million barrels, Kim said.
Kwan-Seop Kim, executive vice president for petroleum stockpile and marketing, said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires that the project would be a joint venture between KNOC, foreign firms and local private companies.
"Already, there are many companies that have expressed interest in participating," he said, including Glencore International AG.
South Korea plans to build the facility in Yeosu in the south of the country, and to ship oil products from the port to other northeast Asian countries and the U.S. West Coast.
A major oil storage facility in South Korea could make an impact in trading patterns in the regional oil-based energy markets, at present dominated by Singapore.
If the first phase of KNOC's project succeeds, the facility's capacity could be expanded to 28 million barrels, Kim said.