Kogas looks to sell assets to cut debt and go upstream

As it plans to cut debt by selling off assets, NJ Watson looks at the South Korean gas firm's plans

Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) is looking to divest assets in order to reduce its crippling debt levels and spend more on select upstream projects. In this uncertain gas market, that will be a more complicated task than it might first appear. Once state-run firms had carte blanche to run up huge debts in a headlong rush to acquire overseas energy companies and assets. No longer. On 10 October, the South Korean government unveiled a new energy development strategy that will force firms like Kogas, in which state entities own a 61% stake, to refrain from making costly mergers and acquisitions. Rather, they will have to focus on improving their finances in order to beef up their exploration abil