Cambodia converts to oil producing nation
Cambodia on December 28 has begun extracting crude oil from its fields in the Gulf of Thailand in a first for the impoverished country.
“The year 2021 is coming and we have received a huge gift for our nation – the first oil production in our territory,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
“This is the significant step for Cambodia to build national capacity and the oil, gas and energy industries,” he added.
The crude was taken from an area 160 kilometers off the country’s southwestern coast near Sihanoukville, where oil reserves have been discovered as early as in 2004 by US oil firm Chevron, but the Cambodian government failed to reach a revenue-sharing agreement, leading the firm to sell its stake to Singapore’s KrisEnergy in 2014.
However, at that point of time, few companies were willing to invest in oil exploration following a global oil price slump in 2014, resulting in year-long delays.
Hundreds of millions of barrels to exploit
The government in Phnom Penh is estimating hundreds of millions of barrels of crude were beneath its waters and believes it would make at least $500 million in royalties and taxes from the first phase of the project.
KrisEnergy currently holds a 95-per cent stake of the block where the first oil was taken from, while the government holds the rest.
The company expects a peak production rate of 7,500 barrels a day from an initial phase – a modest amount compared with Cambodia’s oil-producing neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, but, nevertheless, a new source of income for the country.
KrisEnergy's oil platform in the Gulf of Thailand Cambodia on December 28 has begun extracting crude oil from its fields in the Gulf of Thailand in a first for the impoverished country. "The year 2021 is coming and we have received a huge gift for our nation – the first oil production in our territory," Prime Minister Hun Sen said. “This is the significant step for Cambodia to build national capacity and the oil, gas and energy industries,” he added. The crude was taken from an area 160 kilometers off the country's southwestern coast near Sihanoukville, where oil reserves have...
Cambodia on December 28 has begun extracting crude oil from its fields in the Gulf of Thailand in a first for the impoverished country.
“The year 2021 is coming and we have received a huge gift for our nation – the first oil production in our territory,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
“This is the significant step for Cambodia to build national capacity and the oil, gas and energy industries,” he added.
The crude was taken from an area 160 kilometers off the country’s southwestern coast near Sihanoukville, where oil reserves have been discovered as early as in 2004 by US oil firm Chevron, but the Cambodian government failed to reach a revenue-sharing agreement, leading the firm to sell its stake to Singapore’s KrisEnergy in 2014.
However, at that point of time, few companies were willing to invest in oil exploration following a global oil price slump in 2014, resulting in year-long delays.
Hundreds of millions of barrels to exploit
The government in Phnom Penh is estimating hundreds of millions of barrels of crude were beneath its waters and believes it would make at least $500 million in royalties and taxes from the first phase of the project.
KrisEnergy currently holds a 95-per cent stake of the block where the first oil was taken from, while the government holds the rest.
The company expects a peak production rate of 7,500 barrels a day from an initial phase – a modest amount compared with Cambodia’s oil-producing neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, but, nevertheless, a new source of income for the country.
