Korea on Monday signed a deal to develop three oil fields in the United Arab Emirates which are expected to produce up to 43,000 barrels of crude oil a day from as early as 2014.

A consortium of the Korea National Oil Corporation and GS Energy inked a 30-year contract with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for joint exploration of one offshore and two onshore oil fields, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

Korea became the fifth country after the United States, Britain, France and Japan to develop oil in the UAE, which has the world’s sixth largest oil reserves and the best quality light crude oil in the Middle East.

The Korean consortium will acquire a 40 percent stake (34 percent by KNOC and 6 percent by GS Energy) in the three oil fields owned by ADNOC with an estimated oil reserve of some 570 million barrels.

As the two onshore oil fields account for 10 percent of Abu Dhabi’s territory, the joint exploration is expected to find additional reserves, the ministry said.

The oil exploration will begin this month to start production from as early as 2014.

The Korean consortium will obtain up to 17,000 barrels of crude oil a day, or 40 percent of the maximum daily production from the three oil fields, all of which can be brought to Korea in case of emergency.

The Korean consortium is projected to invest about $2 billion in the oil development and production.

The ministry said Monday’s deal is anticipated to speed up ongoing negotiations on Korea’s participation as a preferred bidder in the development of UAE oil fields that can produce more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)