Chinese-owned Cambodian Resources Energy Development Co Ltd has been
granted a three-year exploration licence in the Gulf of Thailand’s Block
D, off the coast of Cambodia, a senior official at the General
Department of Petroleum told The Post on Thursday.

General Department of Petroleum director-general Cheap Sour said the
Ministry of Mines and Energy and Cambodian Resources Energy Development
signed an agreement in December that gave the company the right to
explore the area.

The company is scheduled to begin exploration of Block D this year.

“Right now, the company is studying all the paperwork. Next, they will begin exploring the oil field.

“If they see that the bloc has potential, they will begin
preparations to extract oil. But we are in the beginning stages, so it
will take a long time before any oil is extracted,” he said.

He noted that the ministry is prioritising attracting more investors to the mines and energy sector in the Kingdom.

Block D is a 5,500sq km zone in the Gulf of Thailand that was previously licensed to local firm CPHL (Cambodia) Co Ltd.

The government revoked that exploration licence in May 2016 after the company failed to meet the terms of the agreement.

According to Sour, Cambodia has divided regions for kerosene exploration into six offshore and 19 onshore blocks.

Sour said the ministry is currently negotiating an agreement with Canadian firm EnerCam Co to explore Block VIII.

“I expect that we will be reaching an agreement on oil exploration with the company soon,” he said.

Singapore-based KrisEnergy is currently developing the Apsara
oilfield in Cambodia’s offshore Block A. The company aims to extract the
first drop of oil later this year. The field is expected to reach a
peak rate of 7,500 barrels of oil per day, according to KrisEnergy.