1978 agreement… Joint exploration ceased in 2002
Attention is paid to whether the agreement will be extended four years before its expiration.
A joint committee between Korea and Japan will be held on the 27th to discuss joint development of Block 7 on the southern continental shelf of Jeju, where oil and gas may be buried. Korea and Japan signed an agreement to jointly develop Block 7 in 1978, but Japan stopped joint exploration in 2002, saying it was not economically feasible, and development has not progressed since then.
This meeting, held in Tokyo, marks 39 years since the last meeting and 22 years since the cessation of joint exploration. The existing joint development agreement expires in June 2028. Therefore, there is a possibility that the positions of both countries on whether to extend this will be confirmed to some extent this time. Korea took the lead in 1970 to develop block 7 independently, but Japan opposed it, so Korea and Japan signed a joint development agreement in 1978. However, Japan stopped joint exploration in 2002, saying it was “uneconomical,” and because the agreement had a clause requiring the two countries to conduct joint drilling and exploration, our exploration was also put on hold. Previously, the U.S. Woodrow Wilson Center estimated that the area around Block 7 would have 10 times the natural gas reserves of Saudi Arabia and 4.5 times the oil reserves of the United States.
There is an analysis among international law experts that if the agreement is terminated without being extended, there is a high possibility that most of the jurisdiction of Block 7 will be transferred to Japan. This is because the International Court of Justice, which ruled that jurisdiction over the continental shelf lies with ‘states with territories connected to the continental shelf’ at the time of signing the agreement, has deemed it to lie with ‘states closer to it’ since 1985. Block 7, which is connected to Korea, is closer to Japan in terms of distance. Accordingly, there are speculations that Japan will begin independent development after terminating the agreement next year. However, if the agreement is terminated, there is a high possibility that China, which claims jurisdiction over Block 7, will cause disputes in the area, so some predict that it will not be easy for Japan to give up the joint development agreement with Korea.
Reporter Ko Do-ye [email protected]
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2024-09-28 03:31:49