Singapore-based firm KrisEnergy, which operates Cambodia’s offshore Block A, is now reviewing bids submitted by contractors for integrated drilling services and a facilities platform. They were submitted during the second quarter.
The procedure reflects a commitment the firm made to the Kingdom’s government, pledging that the first drop of oil would be extracted from the block late next year.
Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman Cheap Sour said the progress puts the company a step closer to oil extraction after it formally signed a petroleum revenue sharing agreement with the government in August last year.
After reviewing and selecting the contractors, Sour said KrisEnergy will seek approval from Cambodian authorities to finalise the same.
“This progress makes it clearer that the company is executing the timeframe that was determined, and is on the journey to begin producing oil in 2019,” Sour said.
In a press release, KrisEnergy said an invitation for bids was issued in the second quarter of this year, seeking both integrated drilling services and a minimum facilities platform for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning.
KrisEnergy first became a stakeholder for Block A in 2010, before buying the stake owned by Chevron for $65 million. KrisEnergy owns 95 per cent of the Apsara oil field in Block A, while the Cambodian government owns the rest.
Cambodian Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth said in August of last year that Block A is believed to hold about 30 million barrels of oil, which could be extracted over the course of nine years.
With the price of Brent crude currently hovering around $70 a barrel, the government expects to earn more than $500 million in income from royalties and tax over the project’s lifespan.
