Oil Prospect Found by Tiny Firm Spurs Hope, Doubt in Korea
- The deposit could reduce the nation’s dependence on imports
- Exploration has limited chance of success, geologist says
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Vitor Abreu is a geologist, but he arrived in Seoul last week like a star, greeted at the airport by flashing cameras and a hoard of reporters.
The head of a 14-person consultancy — headquartered in his suburban Houston home — had discovered what could become one of the world’s biggest oil and gas deposits off the coast of South Korea, spurring hopes of an energy windfall even as skeptics raised questions. His firm found a prospective area, which still required full-fledged drilling to prove its size and viability.