The state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) said Saturday there were no legal issues in its contract with Act-Geo on a project for potential offshore oil and gas reserves, dismissing concerns surrounding the U.S. geoscience research firm’s legal status when the deal was signed.

The KNOC’s statement came in response to a report by local media outlet SisaIN that Act-Geo was in a status that “forfeits the charter, certificate, or registration of the taxable entity” between January 2019 and March 2023.

The government commissioned the Texas-based geoscience research firm to conduct a study in February last year, which 카지노 reported that oil deposits, holding up to 14 billion barrels of gas and oil, may be buried in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

In a release, the KNOC said that while Act-Geo’s legal capacity had been partially limited in the specified period due to its failure to pay franchise tax, there are “no legal issues in regards to the service contract signed in February 2023.”

The measure did not affect Act-Geo’s capacity to sign new contracts, in accordance with state law, and the company has since fully recovered its status after paying all relevant tax, it added.