President Yang Su-yeong of Korea National Oil Corp. (Photos: KNOC)

The state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC)’s starting production in the Haliba oil field in the United Arab Emirates has topped a list of the KNOC’s top five newsmakers for the year 2019.

The KNOC announced the list of the top five newsmakers for the year selected by KNOC executives and staff.

The Haliba oil project ranked first in the survey, followed by the discovery of gas in Tolmout field in the UK North Sea by KNOC’s subsidiary Dana as well as an investment contract on an energy terminal in North Port in Ulsan.

In July, a Korean consortium of KNOC and GS Energy, along with ADNOC, succeeded in exploring the Haliba oil field in Abu Dhabi.

The Haliba oil field in Abu Dhabi has started commercial production of crude oil. It was the first time Korean companies succeeded in commercial production of crude oil from a UAE oil field. Korean side’s annual production was estimated to 5.84 million barrels, and crude production is expected to boost to 60,000 b/d by 2023.

A ceremony Tuesday took place at ADNOC headquarters on July 2 to mark the start-up of commercial production, attended by KNOC CEO & President Yang Su-yeong, ADNOC’s al Jaber, GS Energy CEO Huh Yong-soo and South Korean deputy energy minister Joo Young-joon.

In October, KNOC’s subsidiary Dana Petroleum discovered massive amounts of gas in the Tolmount field off the UK’s North Sea. Some105 Bcf or about 18 million barrels of oil equivalent are estimated to be buried in terms of potential reserves found in water depth of 52 meters.

With the discovery, KNOC is expected to earn about $100 million in current value based on its 50 percent stake in Dana.

Dana obtained the right to explore the Tolmount filed in 2006. Dana’s first drilling failed, and the company handed over a 50 percent stake in the field the operator right to E.ON E&P in 2009.

A seconding drilling, conducted by Dana and E.ON in 2010, failed to reach a target depth. But a third drilling finally succeeded in the discovery of gas with commercial production size of about 500Bcf or an 89 million barrels of oil equivalent.

In April 2018, the UK government gave a go-ahead on the development of the Tolmount gas field. This past August, the two companies launched a full-fledged drilling, which reached a final target depth of 3,202 meters and discovered good-quality gas volumes of 73 meters in thickness in early October.

The operator of the Tolmount field has changed, but Dana employees’ 13-year strenuous efforts with a challenging spirit have paid off. KNOC took over UK-based Dana Petroleum in 2010, the first hostile purchase of a foreign company by any Korean firm.

A view of the Haliba oil field in Abu Dhabi.

A view of KNOC headquarters in Ulsan.