S. Korea to inject 6.9 tln won to expand LNG infrastructure

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will inject 6.9 trillion won in the next
14 years to expand the country's natural gas storage and distribution
infrastructure, the government said Monday.
The plan by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy calls for the use of an offshore
gas well as a storage facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG), along with an
increase in the total length of the country's gas pipelines from 2,739 kilometers
to 3,893 kilometers by 2013.
"The plan is geared to meet the country's long-term energy needs, that call for
32 million tons of LNG to be used to heat homes and generate power in 2022 from
26 million tons this year," said Vice Minister Lee Jae-hoon.
He said the use of the Donghae gas well, which is expected to begin production
within a decade, could contribute to increasing the country's storage capacity to
24 percent of annual demand in 2017 from around 9.2 percent last year. If
developed as a storage facility the offshore gas well located 58 kilometers
southwest of Ulsan could hold 1.7 million tons of LNG worth 15 days of supply in
the peak winter months.
Greater storage capacity can insulate the country better from sudden fluctuations
in prices.
"This facility can be filled up in the summer months when demand is low and used
in winter," the senior policymaker said.
Work to convert the well into a storage facility could begin as early as 2014,
with LNG to be pumped into the empty wells around 2017.
On plans to increase pipelines so more people can use LNG city gas, the official
said 1.7 trillion won will go into the work up till 2013.
Once the building project is complete, the official said up to 78 percent of all
Koreans or 16 million households can benefit from the cheaper fuel source that
have usually been provided to large urban areas in the past.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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