By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A pipeline delivering Russian gas to South Korea will be set up by 2015 at the earliest, according to an agreement reached Sunday by leaders of the two countries on the first day of their summit.
President Lee Myung-bak and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed that South Korea will receive about 7.5 million tons of natural gas per year from the world's second-largest producer of oil and largest source of natural gas.
This is enough to supply 20 percent of South Korea's annual demand, and equivalent to 1,250 households' yearly consumption.
For transportation, Korea Gas Corporation and Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas firm, will co-develop a pipeline that would pass through North Korea, based on the terms of agreement.
Upon successful development, Seoul and Moscow will sign an official agreement in 2010, with the pipeline set for completion by 2015.
The two nations have also agreed to expand cooperation in other energy-related research and development of oil and uranium.
Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Youn-ho, who accompanied the President, held talks with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and concurred on the need to advancing bilateral cooperation.
In addition to the talks, a South Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Atomredmetzoloto Uranium Holdings (ARMZ) to jointly explore for radioactive material used to fuel atomic reactors.
South Korea operates 20 reactors domestically and requires an average of 4,000 tons of uranium each year, making it the sixth-largest importer in the world.
President Lee Myung-bak went on a three-day state visit to discuss North Korea's nuclear standoff and strengthen energy ties.