Cambodia keen to resume gas field talks

Cambodia is ready to meet with Thailand on the issue of the 26,000sq km Overlapping Claims Area (OCA) – estimated to hold up to 500 million barrels of oil and gas deposits under the seafloor – in a bid to jointly develop the area and capitalize on its resources to the benefit of both countries and potentially avert an energy crisis down the line.

Khomgrich Tantravanich, secretary-general of Thailand’s Energy Regulatory Commission, suggested policymakers of both countries be vocal and establish a clear direction for joint development in the long-disputed OCA in the Gulf of Thailand.

The OCA overlaps the Cambodian and Thai borders in the gulf and has been a point of contention between the two neighboring nations, which have claimed the area since the early 1970s.

A memorandum of understanding to jointly explore the OCA was signed in 2001 but was later shelved by the Thai government in 2009. Calls to rekindle negotiations on oil and gas development in the region have re-emerged time and again with varying degrees of success.

However, with spiraling global demand and prices for oil and gas, buoyed by economic reopening and the Ukraine crises, negotiations may take a different turn this time.

Khomgrich recommended Thailand secure more gas supplies for electricity generation, after a drop in volumes from the gulf resulted in additional “costly” liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

“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.

Agencies