KrisEnergy signed agreements with the government of Cambodia for the nation’s first oil field development in Cambodia Block A, in the Gulf of Thailand.
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% 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 holdsthe remaining 95% participating interest.
“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.
The Cambodia Block A contract area covers 3,083 sq. km over the Khmer Basin in the Gulf of Thailand, where water depths range between 50 metres and 80 metres. 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 barrels 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.
The individual oil accumulations in Cambodia Block A are small in size and spread over a large geographic area, requiring significant funds and time to fully develop. Additionally, reservoir production performance in the Khmer Basin has yet to be proven.
Once the initial Phase 1A platform is on stream, there will be a period to monitor reservoir performance before commencing Phase 1B, which envisages up to three additional platforms producing to the Phase 1A facilities. A Phase 1C will potentially add up to six additional platforms for the full 10-platform Apsara development.
Kelvin Tang, KrisEnergy’s Chief Operating Officer and President of the Company’s Cambodian activities, said: “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.”
Explore more about the project in the following video:
