Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said that the long-awaited first industrial oil production has finally begun within the country.
In a nationwide appearance on state television, Hun Sen said that on Monday KrisEnergy, a Singaporean oil and gas company, produced the primary drop of oil from a well in offshore Block A within the Gulf of Thailand, west of the coastal Cambodian province of Preah Sihanouk.
“The start of production is a blessing for our Cambodia,” Hun Sen said. “This is an important first step for Cambodia towards improving its ability to achieve its goal as an oil and gas producing country.”
“COVID-19 disrupted but could not thwart our attempts to extract oil,” he added.
The 3,000-square-kilometer (1,158-square-mile) Block A concession is estimated to contain as much as 30 million barrels of oil reserves. It was discovered in 2004 and was initially owned by the oil giant Chevron, which sold its shares to KrisEnergy in 2014.
KrisEnergy, which was granted production rights by the federal government in 2017, has a 95% stake within the project, and the Cambodian government has the remaining 5%.
Production began with one development well within the Apsara field and is predicted to achieve peak production of roughly 7,500 barrels of oil per day once the drilling program is accomplished and 4 more development wells come online, based on the oil company. in mid-February 2021
“Our task now is to complete the drilling of the four remaining wells, stabilize production and monitor results so that we can assess the best path to optimize Cambodia’s oil production and asset values in the coming years,” Kelvin Tang was quoted as saying within the announcement. , head of KrisEnergy’s Cambodian branch, said.
Over the past decade, several corporations from Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea have also expressed interest in exploring for oil in Cambodian waters.
Critics have expressed concern that oil revenues could exacerbate Cambodia’s already rampant corruption if the federal government fails to create an appropriate legal environment to administer expected windfall profits.
