Chey Tae-won (C), chairman of SK Group, holds hands with GE vice chairman John Rice(L) and Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm(R) at a MOU signing ceremony in Washington on June 28, 2017. (image: SK Group)
SEOUL, Jun. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Group, a South Korean energy and telecom conglomerate, said Thursday that it plans to strengthen business ties and expand investment in the U.S. shale gas sector.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, attended a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday (local time) to sign a memorandum of understanding with General Electric and Continental Resources to form a strategic alliance for the shale gas project.
The conglomerate said it plans to invest 1.8 trillion won (US$1.56 billion) in the United States over the next five years.
The announcement, meanwhile, came ahead of the first summit between President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
Under the deal, SK and General Electric will work together to develop shale gas fields in the U.S. and promote the sales of U.S. LNG and LPG in Asia, South America and Africa.
The two also agreed to cooperate in the renewable energy business, SK Group said.
SK Group also aims to cooperate closely with Continental Resources to jointly develop shale gas fields.
In 2014, SK E&S, an affiliate of SK Group, acquired a 49.9 percent stake in Continental’s northwest Cana area for US$360 million. The deal allows SK E&S to secure 38 million tons of gas.
With the deal, South Korea is able to diversify its energy imports and further sell U.S. energy resources to a third country.
Besides money that will be poured into the North American country, SK said it is moving to search for other investment opportunities worth upwards of 5 trillion won in the future.
(Yonhap)
