A drillship participating in a major gas and oil development project in the East Sea arrived at its first drilling site Tuesday, as it prepares to begin exploration operations amid growing uncertainties in the project due to domestic political situations, according to industry sources.

The West Capella, operated by Norway-based Seadrill Ltd., arrived at the location around 9 a.m., about 50 kilometers east of the southeastern port city of Pohang, with operations set to begin later this week, according to the sources.

The ship arrived at an offshore anchorage near the southeastern port city of Busan earlier this month to load supplies before heading for the drilling site under the program that is believed to potentially uncover between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil.

The process of gathering samples from the drilling operation is expected to take around two months, with the results of the analysis scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2025.

The government and the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. earlier said drilling operations have a success rate of around 20 percent, indicating at least five spots may need to be explored over the course of a few years.

The 228-meter-long West Capella was built by South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. in 2008 and boasts a maximum drilling depth of 37,500 feet, or 11.43 km.

The exploration project, however, currently faces hurdles as the main opposition-led budget bill passed at the National Assembly cut the entire 49.7 billion-won ($34.5 million) budget allocated for the drilling operation in 2025.

Lingering political uncertainties in South Korea, including the passage of an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol last week following his short-lived martial law declaration, have also created further challenges for the project. (Yonhap)