Canadian firm receives approval for Cambodian oil and gas concession

• 14 August 2019
• Local News
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Canadian oil exploration firm Angkor, through its subsidiary EnerCam Resources Co. Ltd, has recently gained approval from the Government of Cambodia on its request for a 7,300 km2 oil and gas concession in the Kampong-Som Basin.

According to the firm’s announcement on 13 August, the approval will allow Angkor to perform oil and gas exploration within the Petroleum Block VIII of the Kampong-Som Basin. Angkor is currently proceeding with the negotiation of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with regard to the license.

“This is a major milestone for Angkor. Angkor is the first Canadian exploration company to be granted this level of approval to pursue oil and gas opportunities in Cambodia. After review, the Royal Government of Cambodia has determined Angkor’s subsidiary EnerCam to be technically qualified to explore and develop this oil and gas concession,” said Angkor CEO Stephen Burega.

“With the long-term expertise and commitment of Angkor’s Executive Chairman Mike Weeks in foreign oil and gas projects and in Cambodia, we are well positioned to expand in SE Asia’s extractive sector. Angkor looks forward to negotiating the Production Sharing Agreement and commencing our seismic and data review as soon as possible,” he added.

Beside this project, Angkor is also working on its other five exploration licenses in Cambodia that cover approximately 983 km2. One of those, a drill program on its Banlung License is ongoing.

Upon the approval, Director General for the General Department of Petroleum of Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy H.E. Cheap Sour also expressed his optimism on this project hoping the technology brought by Angkor will help dig up the potential of energy sources in Cambodia.

“We are very pleased to be working with Angkor in developing Cambodia’s oil and gas potential,” said H.E Cheap Sour.

Kampong-Som Basin is a newly-recognised and unexplored onshore sedimentary basin in southweastern Cambodia. It was first identified and interpreted as a foreland basin in 2016 by researchers from the Danish Geological Survey.

Besides the Kampong-Som Basin, there are also many other basins which are being developed in Cambodia, one of which is the most well-known is Apsara Oil Field of the Khmer Basin. This is where the first drop of oil is planned to be extracted from Cambodia’s offshore oil field territory by 2019. This project is currently being undertaken by Singaporean firm KrisEnergy (Read more)

Regarding the oil situation in the kingdom, the National Assembly on 19 June 2019 also approved a new bill on Oil and Oil Production Management to manage and develop oil resources with efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and attract and offer confidence to investors and to boost the sustainable development of the oil sector. (Read more)

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