Development of oilfield to continue as planned

31 Jul 2018 2050 | World Travel News

The recent gains in the global price of oil will not affect plans for the development of the Apsara oilfield, according to a representative of the company that holds the rights to the area.

Tanya Pang, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications at KrisEnergy Ltd, told Khmer Times last week that the company does not foresee any changes to their development plans for the Apsara oilfield, which is located in an area in the Gulf of Thailand known as Block A.

“The first drop of oil is still expected for the second half of 2019. We have not changed that schedule,” she said.

KrisEnergy is the operator of the Apsara oilfield and holds a 95 percent working interest. The Ministry of Economy and Finance holds the remaining five percent.

Ms Pang explained that the bidding process for certain components of the development of the area is moving forward as planned.

She added that any updates to their plans for the oilfield will be presented to the public next month when the group issues its financial results for the first half of 2018.

The price of oil in the international market is rallying after sustained loses over the last few years that prompted some oil firms to seek investments in different industries.

According to Ms Pang, KrisEnergy’s plans for the Apsara oilfield remain unchanged despite the rise in the price of crude.

“We continuously evaluate all of our developments under several price scenarios. The final investment decision for the Apsara development was declared in October 2017 when oil prices were at a lower level than today.

“Higher prices now do not affect our decision to go ahead with the development of the Apsara oilfield.”

Ms Pang said the impact of the upcoming Petroleum Law, which is still in the making, will be negligible.

“The impact should be minimal. The terms of our development have been agreed with the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance,” she said.

In October last year, KrisEnergy announced they made a final investment decision to proceed with the first phase of development of the Apsara oilfield.