Thursday, 19 February 2009

Low oil prices set to delay Chevron project in Cambodia

Philippine Star
February 19, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Falling oil prices are likely to delay US oil giant Chevron's development of Block A near southwestern Cambodia, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post said on Thursday.

The company has already finished exploration of the off-shore concession, but won't begin production until at least 2012, said the paper.

Chevron was now playing a waiting game in Cambodia after seeing oil prices plummeted in the past 6 months, the paper quoted Hang Chuon Naron, secretary general at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as telling a trade and investment forum here on Wednesday.

"At this stage, Chevron has finished exploration in Block A. If they decide to move on with development now, (first) production will be in 2012," he said, predicting of $200 million of oil revenues for the same year.

However, Chevron was likely to wait longer to begin oil production from the concession, "because the oil prices are in crisis," he said.

"Therefore, production will be in 2014 or 2015. That depends on the oil prices. Everything depends on the oil prices," he added.

The oil and natural gas resources of Cambodia are found concentrated in its off-shore area near the southwestern tip of its territory.

This area has been divided into 6 blocks for a dozen of foreign companies to explore and develop. None of them starts production yet.

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