South Korea signed an agreement with Uzbekistan in Seoul Wednesday to explore and develop oil and gas fields in the Central Asian country.

The memorandum of understanding signed between the (South) Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) and Uzbeknefgaz, the state-run oil and gas company of Uzbekistan, gives South Korea exclusive rights to examine and develop two oil and two gas fields in the Central Asian nation.

South Korea's Commerce and Industry Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Uzbekistani Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Alisher Erkinovich Shaikhov signed the MoU earlier in the day at a hotel in downtown Seoul, according to the South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE).

Under the deal, the KNOC will carry out preliminary exploration in Chust-Pap and Namangen-Terachi in the eastern part of the Uzbekistan in cooperation with Uzbeknefgaz for six months. Based on the results, the KNOC has the right to sign a development contracts around December 2006.

Chust-Pap and Namangen-Terachi were estimated to hold 385 million barrels and 435 million barrels of crude oil, respectively.

Of the two gas fields that will be developed by KOGAS, Surgil has been confirmed to have 84 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the Uzunkui field was preliminarily estimated to hold 191 million tons of LNG.

Besides, the two ministers of the two countries also exchanged an MOU calling for greater bilateral cooperation in the development of energy and other natural resources.

Shaikhov is in South Korea as part of Uzbek President Islam Karimov's entourage.

Karimov arrived here on Tuesday for a three-day trip.

Source: Xinhua