PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian government is ready to discuss with Thailand on overlapping claims on an area that holds huge oil and gas deposits in the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy director-general for petroleum Cheap Sour said the country was ready to negotiate with the Thai side on the 26,000 sq km Overlapping Claim Area (OCA), which has been a point of contention between them since the early 1970s.
Estimated to hold up to 500 million barrels of oil and gas deposits under the seafloor, the countries hope to jointly develop the area and capitalise on its resources.
His remarks come after it was reported that Thailand's Energy Regulatory Commission secretary-general Khomgrich Tantravanich suggested policymakers of both countries be vocal and establish a clear direction for joint development of the OCA.
A memorandum of understanding to jointly explore the OCA was signed in 2001 but it was later shelved by the Thai government in 2009. Since then, calls to rekindle negotiations on oil and gas development in the region have been made several times.
According to the Bangkok Post, Khomgrich said Thailand needed to secure more gas supplies for electricity generation in the country.
"We are confident that the OCA will help Thailand secure gas supplies and keep energy prices low in the long run," he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Post had previously reported the Ministry of Mines and Energy secretary of state Meng Saktheara saying that the political and economic considerations made OCA negotiations very complicated.
He said although the leaders of both countries have called for a speedy resolution, there was little progress.
Saktheara proposed that the two countries follow the model set by the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area for the gulf claimed by the two nations.
"We'll work together to extract natural resources and develop the two economies, based on the premise of equity and in accordance with international principles," he said.
In another development, Cambodia said it expects to earn more than US$25 million from the sale of oil that is still in an oil tanker.
Some 300,000 barrels of crude oil from an oilfield off the coast, is still in the Bahamas-flagged tanker MT Strovolos since last year.
Saktheara said earlier this month that after several rounds of negotiations, the concerned parties have agreed in-principle that Cambodia would receive 70 per cent of the oil, the shipping company 26 per cent, and KrisEnergy's creditors four per cent.
According to The Post, the Singapore-based KrisEnergy Group in 2014 bought a controlling stake in the offshore Block A concession from US oil giant Chevron for US$65 million.
In 2017, it entered into a petroleum agreement for exploration and development from the government but just 157 days after it extracted Cambodia's first drops of oil, KrisEnergy Ltd filed for liquidation on June 4, 2021.
Later that month, the MT Strovolos, while being leased by KrisEnergy, left Cambodian waters without obtaining customs clearance or the required permission from the authorities.
Indonesian authorities seized the tanker and its crew over a month later, and confirmed that more than 297,000 barrels of oil were onboard.
Saktheara said the shipowners, KrisEnergy creditors, oil buyers and other stakeholders have agreed on the outstanding issues and a detailed agreement will be signed soon, pending a green light from the government.
He said the MT Strovolos had now returned to Thai waters from Bangladesh, and that the ministry was relying on independent agencies to inspect the vessel.
KrisEnergy pumped a total of nearly 300,000 barrels from Cambodian waters, leaving almost 200,000 barrels' worth in the five wells drilled by the company.
The Post report said a team from the energy ministry and Canadian-owned company EnerCam Resources Co Ltd (EnerCam) were now looking into picking up where KrisEnergy left off.
They are also studying the possibility of investing in oil extraction from Block A, using equipment seized by the ministry.
The energy ministry is also discussing with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the feasibility of setting up a national oil company, so that the country is no longer dependent on international companies for oil extraction.