S.Korea Merges Oil and Gas Corporations to Boost Efficiency
The South Korean government has announced plans to merge the Korea National Oil Corporation and the Korea Gas Corporation into one company, called the Integrated Energy Resources Corporation. The move aims to strengthen efficiency by combining the functions of overseas resource exploration and development that the two companies currently perform.
According to the 'Promotion Plan for Functional Reform of Public Institutions', the integrated company will take over the roles of energy integration development, energy reserve, clean energy, and energy supply and security strategy from the two corporations. The Korea National Oil Corporation's functions related to improving the distribution structure of oil will be transferred to the Korea National Oil Management Agency.
The government believes that this integration will help establish an integrated energy strategy for oil and gas at the national level. In particular, it is expected to maximize its advantages in overseas resource development projects, as oil and natural gas are often buried together in the same underground fields.