Seoul: GS Caltex Corporation, South Korea's second-biggest oil refiner, agreed to invest in a natural gas exploration project in Bangladesh to boost its energy assets overseas.
The company signed a contract to buy a 45 per cent stake in Block 7 in Bangladesh from Chevron Corporation, Seoul-based GS Caltex said in a statement, without saying how much it will pay.
Overseas assets
Korean refiners including GS Caltex and bigger rival SK Energy Company are expanding investments in overseas energy assets to diversify revenue sources and secure supplies on expectations that oil prices will rise as the global economy recovers.
Crude oil prices have doubled in the past year.
Operator Chevron currently holds 90 per cent of the onshore block, while a Bangladeshi state company, identified as Bapex in the statement, owns the balance, GS Caltex said.
The Korean refiner has won approval from the Bangladeshi government for the investment, according to the statement.
GS Caltex, equally owned by GS Holdings Corporation and Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has stakes in six exploration projects in countries including Russia, Cambodia and Thailand, according to the statement.
