The owner of the U.S.-based geoscience research company Act-Geo, which took part in South Korea’s project for potential offshore oil and gas reserves, arrived in the nation Wednesday for meetings with government officials.

Vitor Abreu, the owner of the Houston, Texas-based research firm, arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, noting his visit was aimed at following up with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) on the potential discovery of up to 14 billion barrels of gas and oil.

“I came here to discuss with the KNOC what’s the best way for us to approach this and actually to give a better or more clear response for the Korean people in this very, very important project,” Abreu told reporters upon his arrival.

When asked if he believes the economic value of the potential discovery is high, Abreu replied, “The answer is yes,” but refrained from offering more details on the project, citing a “confidentiality agreement” with the state-run firm.

He added that the company conducted t
he research after the KNOC requested an evaluation of the prospects of the project.

“That was the project that came from the KNOC basically asking for evaluation of the prospectivity of basin,” he said. “The deep sea has never been studied in depth, and there were also more new data,” he said.

His visit came after President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Monday that South Korea will push to embark on the project in the East Sea after a study suggested significant oil deposits may be buried in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The government commissioned Act-Geo to conduct a study in February last year, which reported that the deposits could hold between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil.

Meanwhile, there have been rising questions surrounding the credibility of the firm, with some claiming that the address of the company headquarters was that of a residential house in suburban Houston.

In response, the KNOC said Abreu was a veteran of 3
0 years in the field of deep-sea exploration and previously served as the head of the geology division at ExxonMobil and the president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

The company also said that during his days at ExxonMobil, Abreu played a leading role in the exploration of the largest deep-sea oil field in Guyana, South America.

Abreu plans to hold a press conference in the central city of Sejong on Friday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency