Seoul: South Korea has yet to establish the economic feasibility of a potential oil and gas reserve in the East Sea, as revealed by the industry ministry during an announcement regarding the initial exploratory drilling results of the nation’s “Blue Whale” prospect.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the first exploratory drilling was conducted in one of the seven potential oil and gas reserves identified last year in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, approximately 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. This process took place over nearly two months, starting on December 20.

The initial drilling results indicated that while there are signs of gas in the Blue Whale prospect, the hydrocarbon saturation rate-an essential factor for estimating potential oil and gas production-was not “meaningful enough” to confirm economic viability, as stated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The ministry intends to release an interim report between May and June, followed by a final report on the drilling outcomes in August. A senior ministry official noted, “We have tentatively confirmed signs of gas through exploration but believe the hydrocarbon saturation level is not meaningful enough to guarantee economic feasibility of the (Blue Whale) prospect.”

Despite the current findings, the official mentioned that the Blue Whale prospect possesses a fine geological system. The ministry plans to utilize the collected samples and data to further explore the remaining six prospects, should the opportunity arise.

The geological system for natural oil and gas reserves consists of four primary components: source rock, reservoir rock, cap rock, and traps. The official highlighted that the Blue Whale prospect demonstrated a better-than-expected quality of reservoir rock and cap rock, increasing the likelihood that the other six prospects might possess “prospective” geological systems. However, these findings do not necessarily ensure successful extraction of natural resources from the prospects.