The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak met April 23 with a delegation from Oman LNG at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel in central Seoul to discuss ways to expand cooperation. Hamed Al Namani, CEO of Oman LNG, attended.
The meeting followed a visit to Oman on April 9 by a strategic economic cooperation delegation led by Kang Hoon-sik, the president’s chief of staff, serving as a special envoy.
During that trip, the delegation met with Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Energy and Minerals Minister Salim Al Aufi and others to discuss cooperation on energy resources such as crude oil and naphtha in response to deepening geopolitical risks in the region. Oman LNG also agreed at the time to hold additional talks with the ministry in April to strengthen cooperation in the gas sector.
At the Seoul meeting, the two sides focused on potential liquefied natural gas cooperation, citing Oman’s geographic advantage outside the Strait of Hormuz and its relative insulation from regional geopolitical risks.
They also held in-depth talks on possible cooperation tied to Oman’s new helium project, aimed at ensuring stable supplies of helium gas, a key resource for South Korea’s semiconductor industry.
Moon said that as uncertainty in global energy supply chains increases, Oman’s strategic location outside the Strait of Hormuz offers a key opportunity for South Korea to diversify its energy supply lines. He said the government plans to review its energy supply chain in the wake of the current Middle East war and maintain a policy of diversifying suppliers to reduce geopolitical risks.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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