KrisEnergy seal terms for Cambodia Block A oil development

KrisEnergy, the operator of the Cambodia Block A since 2014, plans to develop the Apsara area in the north eastern section of the concession, which is one of seven geological trends in the licence where there is potential for oil and/or gas to be trapped. Under the terms of the agreements, KrisEnergy has 60 days to declare a final investment decision thereby signalling the formal launch of the Apsara project, which is expected to take up to 24 months to produce first oil.

Under the formalised terms, a 5.0% participating interest in Cambodia Block A transfers to the Royal Government of Cambodia and will be held by the General Department of State Property and Non Tax Revenue of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. KrisEnergy holds the remaining 95.0% participating interest.

The agreements also trigger the second relinquishment phase of the concession, whereby 1626 km², or approximately 25.0% of the Cambodia Block A area, is returned to the authorities leaving 3083 km² under the operatorship of KrisEnergy.

“The signing of the fiscal and technical agreements between the Government and KrisEnergy for oil production in Block A is the culmination of years of work and endeavour by all parties involved and we are very proud of the outcome. Producing Cambodia’s first oil in its offshore waters will be a major step along our steady road to economic development and national prosperity and is aligned to the Government’s key development goals,” said H.E. Meng Saktheara, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Mines and Energy and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Block A.

H.E. Chou Vichet, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Vice-Chairman for the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Block A, commented: “Cambodia’s growth has been stable and has grown rapidly over the past two decades through the increase in construction, garment exports, tourism and the agricultural sectors. These are all important foundations in the development and prosperity for Cambodia. Now we are starting to develop a new oil and gas sector that will help increasing state revenues and job creation that will contribute to boosting our Cambodian economy further. We congratulate KrisEnergy for its efforts and dedication to make the oil and gas development project in Cambodia Block A a reality.”

Kelvin Tang, KrisEnergy’s Chief Operating Officer and President of the Company’s Cambodian activities, said: “There has been great interest in this project from many stakeholders and related parties and we are delighted to have reached this stage. I would like to thank the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Block A for their close cooperation and advice, which has resulted in the successful formalisation of the terms and conditions. “We are proud and honoured to be the operator of this landmark project, which will be an historic milestone for the economy and people of Cambodia as well as for KrisEnergy. Our technical and project teams have a successful track record of bringing greenfield oil developments in the Gulf of Thailand into production on time and to budget. Apsara marks only the first phase of the development of Cambodia Block A, there remains further potential in other geological trends within the contract area for future investigation.” The Cambodia Block A contract area covers 3083 km² over the Khmer Basin in the Gulf of Thailand where water depths range between 50 and 80 m. Phase 1A of the Apsara development consists of a single unmanned minimum facility 24-slot wellhead platform producing to a moored production barge capable of processing up to 30 000 bbls of fluid per day with gas, oil and water separation facilities on the vessel. The oil will be sent via a 1.5 km pipeline for storage to a permanently moored floating, storage and offloading vessel.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/23082017/krisenergy-seal-terms-for-cambodia-block-a-oil-development/