March 1, 2002.
Although March had arrived with the warmth of spring elsewhere, Sakhalin was still gripped by icy, cutting winds so cold that a thick coat was essential.
A Bell 412 twin-engine turboshaft helicopter was flying high over the sea, about sixteen kilometers off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island.
Seok-won, seated in the back wearing a black long coat and leather gloves, turned his head and looked down through the windscreen below.
The Sea of Okhotsk spread out beneath him, its color deeper than dark navy, almost black.
Floating atop it were massive white ice floes, drifting like islands.
As he gazed impassively at the desolate seascape that seemed to forbid human intrusion, Choi Gyu-wan, CEO of Bluehole Energy, who was riding beside him, spoke up.
"Because of the large volume of freshwater flowing in from the Amur River, the salinity here is lower than in other seas, so ice starts forming from December. By February, most of the Sea of Okhotsk is covered in ice to the point that ship navigation becomes impossible."
Choi Gyu-wan, a man with a rugged look and thick eyebrows, was a veteran resource exploration expert who had spent more than twenty years working overseas. He was formerly with the Daegwang Group, which had gone bankrupt several years earlier.
Not only did he have extensive field experience, but he was also one of the very few Korean specialists in resource exploration, having earned a PhD at Texas A&M University for his research in computational processing of induced seismic waves.
"When the sea freezes over like this, you wouldn't even dare try sailing without an icebreaker."
"That's right. Even after temperatures start to rise, those massive ice floes you see keep drifting around until summer. One wrong move and it can lead straight to a major accident. It's a very dangerous sea."
CEO Choi Gyu-wan nodded as he spoke.
"Because of that, the conditions are so harsh that for half the year we can't even go out to sea to conduct exploration. We end up stuck in port, just waiting for the weather to ease."
Seok-won turned his gaze from below and met Choi Gyu-wan's eyes.
"But precisely because of that, isn't it also the reason why massive reserves of oil and gas beneath the continental shelf have remained undeveloped all this time?"
"Now that you put it that way, you're right."
Just then, the pilot's voice came through the headphones he was wearing.
[We've arrived at the destination.]
Looking ahead, he could see a massive artificial structure made of tens of thousands of tons of steel standing at the edge of the distant horizon, radiating an unmistakable presence.
Rising from the middle of the vast open sea, with a towering drilling rig thrust straight up toward the gray sky, was Duseong, the only offshore oil drilling ship owned by the Republic of Korea.
The large Hangul letters spelling "Duseong" beneath the derrick, along with the Taegeukgi fluttering from one side, somehow felt especially reassuring.
"It's an old drilling ship, nearly twenty years since it was built, so I was worried whether it could really withstand the harsh waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. But seeing it in person like this, it doesn't feel aged at all."
Choi Gyu-wan gave a faint smile and replied.
"It's true that she's gotten on in years, but that also means she has the experience of drilling countless wells beneath the sea. And most of the crew onboard are veterans who've worked on the Duseong for ten to fifteen years. They know the rig inside out, down to every last bolt and screw."
"I see."
"Maintenance is extremely thorough, and a few years ago all the drilling equipment was completely replaced with new systems. Even compared to newly built rigs, she doesn't fall short at all."
"You seem to know the Duseong very well."
At Seok-won's question, Choi Gyu-wan paused, a nostalgic look crossing his face.
"Before I moved to the Daegwang Group, my very first posting when I was with the Korea National Oil Corporation was right here on the Duseong."
"I see."
As memories from his younger days surfaced, Choi Gyu-wan looked at the Duseong with eyes full of pride and continued,
"In this industry, if the probability of finding crude oil or gas after anchoring and drilling a well is higher than the average of 30%, it's called a lucky rig."
"That's something I've never heard before."
Choi Gyu-wan continued, pointing toward the Duseong, where waves crashed against the six thick caissons supporting its boxy hull, sending up sprays of white foam.
"Among the rigs known as lucky rigs, the Duseong is one of them."
"What's its success rate?"
"A very impressive 51%, far above the industry average."
"Over a fifty percent success rate. That really is remarkable."
At Seok-won's quiet admiration, Choi Gyu-wan straightened his chest with evident pride.
"It was the Duseong that discovered the Donghae-1 gas field, which turned Korea into an energy-producing nation. With that kind of luck behind her, I'm confident we'll see good results from this drilling as well."
"I really hope so."
Just then, the pilot's voice came through the headphones.
[We will begin landing now.]
After making a wide circle above the drilling ship, which was slightly larger than a soccer field, the helicopter slowly descended and settled lightly onto the helipad marked with a large H on one side of the deck.
A man in an orange one-piece work suit ran over, shielding himself from the rotor wash with one hand pressed to his head and his upper body bent forward, then opened the side door.
At once, the fierce, knife-like wind of Sakhalin rushed inside, wildly tousling Seok-won's hair.
Removing his headset and stepping down, Seok-won moved with the others toward the edge of the helipad, their coats flapping violently in the wind.
There, several men in orange work suits with "Duseong" printed on their backs were waiting to greet them.
"Welcome aboard the Duseong."
Choi Gyu-wan gestured toward a bearded man in his fifties standing in front of them, dressed in oil-stained workwear, and made the introduction.
"This is Kwon Dong-won, the OIM in charge of overseeing all drilling operations."
"Nice to meet you."
Seok-won extended his hand first without any hesitation and shook his.
Having heard that he was a third-generation chaebol heir and an immensely wealthy tycoon, Kwon Dong-won had expected a very different demeanor. Instead, seeing Seok-won's easygoing, unpretentious attitude, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by a look of genuine warmth.
"Director Kwon and I have worked together many times. He's someone I can personally vouch for when it comes to skill. The well that discovered the Donghae-1 gas field was drilled by him."
"I see. Then we can expect a jackpot here as well, right?"
Seok-won said with a smile, and Kwon Dong-won responded with a confident grin.
"Finding oil is ninety percent luck, but judging by how smoothly drilling has been going without any major incidents so far, I've got a good feeling about this one."
At the positive reply, Seok-won spoke with a pleased expression.
"That's very good news to hear."
CEO Choi Gyu-wan then gestured to the man standing beside Kwon Dong-won.
"This is Yoo Jin-ho, the ship's captain. He's been sailing on the Duseong for fifteen years now."
Yoo Jin-ho took off his New York Yankees baseball cap and greeted them with a friendly expression.
"I'm Yoo Jin-ho."
"Nice to meet you. Having so many veterans together is very reassuring."
After that, Seok-won went around shaking hands with each of the department heads who had come out to greet them. All of them were veterans with more than ten years of experience.
Once the brief introductions were finished, he followed Director Kwon Dong-won and headed to the control room with the group.
Perhaps because drilling work had been carried out for so long over the salt-laden sea, many sections of the steel railings and the intricate piping installed throughout the hull were rusted or had peeling paint.
A moment later, as they stepped into the control room, warm heaters were running, and it felt as if the cold that had seeped into their bodies from the frigid sea wind was finally melting away.
"As you can see, we're right in the middle of the ocean, so all we have to offer is instant mix coffee. Will that be all right?"
When Director Kwon asked, Seok-won replied casually,
"If you don't mind, make it extra sweet. Tear open two packets."
"Hahaha. So you know how to drink mix coffee."
Laughing heartily, he turned toward the workbench where an electric kettle and neatly stacked paper cups sat.
A basket nearby was filled with yellow packets of instant mix coffee along with assorted snacks, a clear sign that overnight shifts were common in this space.
Meanwhile, Seok-won went over to a table and sat down, looking over the exploration area chart spread out on top as he asked,
"How's the drilling coming along?"
"Just as I said earlier, it's going smoothly."
Kwon Dong-won came back with coffee for everyone, set the paper cups down on the table, and replied.
"As you already know, unfortunately, nothing came up at Points One and Two."
With a red marker, Kwon Dong-won pointed one by one at the spots on the chart marked with Xs.
"But here at Point Three, where we're currently working, we hadn't even drilled halfway to the target depth of six kilometers when we hit a drilling break about half a day before you arrived."
Choi Gyu-wan, who was sitting beside him, widened his eyes and asked,
"Is that true?"
"Yes. That's why we immediately halted drilling and collected the cuttings. We're in the middle of a detailed analysis now."
Seeing CEO Choi Gyu-wan's face flushed with excitement, Seok-won tilted his head slightly.
"What's a drilling break?"
"Ah. Sorry."
Choi Gyu-wan cleared his throat, forcing himself to calm down, and began to explain.
"You probably know that at the very end of the drill string, there's a drilling tool called a bit. The drilling process works by having that bit rotate rapidly as it cuts down into the ground."
Seeing Seok-won nod slightly with his arms crossed, Choi Gyu-wan continued.
"As the bit keeps digging, soil and rock fragments are generated and carried back up through the connected pipes. We analyze those to understand the geological layers. And the deeper we drill, the smaller the borehole becomes, starting at around 36 inches in diameter at the top and gradually narrowing as it goes down."
Since it's impossible for people to go directly underground to connect drill pipes by hand, the method used is to push progressively smaller pipes down through the borehole one after another.
"Oil and gas reservoirs aren't gathered as liquid or gas in empty cavities within the ground, the way people often imagine. Instead, they're trapped in the tiny gaps between sand grains that make up sandstone layers. Just like a sponge absorbing water, the sandstone holds the oil and gas."
Choi Gyu-wan spoke with an excited expression.
"When the bit reaches this sandstone layer, the rotation of the drill string cutting downward suddenly speeds up, and the hand gripping the drill lever feels strangely light. That sensation is what we call a drilling break."
Understanding the meaning immediately, Seok-won's eyes lit up.
"The sandstone layer that holds oil or gas is brittle and breaks easily, so the rotation speed increases."
"That's right."
With an expression full of anticipation, Seok-won asked,
"Then that means there's an oil field beneath our feet, doesn't it?"
At that point, Kwon Dong-won stepped into the conversation and said in a cautious tone,
"The possibility is certainly high, but it's still too early to definitively conclude that there's crude oil."
Seok-won frowned slightly, looking puzzled.
"Didn't you just say you found a sandstone layer?"
"As I said, we did hit a sandstone layer, but contrary to expectations, it could still turn out to be empty. And even if there is oil or gas, if the porosity and permeability of the formation are low, it won't be commercially viable and won't be worth producing."
"Ah…"
Seeing Seok-won look slightly disappointed, Kwon Dong-won added carefully,
"However, based on the initial analysis of the core samples that were brought up, the results suggest there's a strong likelihood that a commercially viable amount of crude oil is present."
"Are you sure?"
Seok-won's expression brightened again as he leaned forward.
"To be more certain, we'll need to send the samples to a land-based research facility for confirmation. But based on the tests we've conducted so far, that's the conclusion."
"Then there's no reason to hesitate. Let's continue drilling and see if there really is crude oil down there."
Kwon Dong-won shifted his gaze slightly and glanced at CEO Choi Gyu-wan, who was seated beside him. When Choi nodded in agreement, Kwon bowed his head and replied,
"Understood. I've been dying of curiosity myself about whether there really is oil down there, so this works out well. We'll resume drilling immediately."
At the thought of witnessing, with his own eyes, the historic moment when crude oil was discovered, Seok-won felt his heart race.
He looked down at the chart marking the current drilling location, his expression filled with anticipation.