Green Economic Development in the Greater Gyeongsang Area with NGH

As the world shifts away from carbon emitting fuels to carbon neutral energy sources, there are specific opportunities for economic development in the Greater Gyeongsang Area (GGA). GGA is already engaged in supporting the oil and gas industry with infrastructure development. Instead of placing that economic activity at risk in the green revolution, GGA can instead encourage the development of new technologies to take a lead in the emerging opportunities of natural gas hydrates (NGH). Government and Industry cooperation can preserve industrial skills, promote growth, and encourage green energy.

NGH are a source of methane, commonly known as natural gas. Production of NGH into methane creates a fuel source that is technologically well-understood and readily suited for public and private transportation and industrial functions. The key differences of NGH versus traditional natural gas resources is that extraction of NGH requires the exchange of carbon dioxide for methane, permanently sequestering the greenhouse gas, providing a potentially net carbon neutral source of methane. Thus the natural gas from NGH would be as potentially green as solar or wind power. Furthermore, NGH are found in large supplies much closer to Korea than traditional oil and gas supplies, for example near India and in the South Seas. NGH are also found in producible amounts off the coasts of Gyeongsang Nam and Buk-Do.

Government can playa role in supporting the needed new technologies by providing research grants to universities and by providing scholarships to young scholars so that they can remain within the GGA during their studies. Additionally, it is argued that the Government can take a role in promoting and risk-reduction for the early entrants in to this new market.