A Cambodian girl sits at her roadside gasoline store in the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007. (AP Photo)Wednesday February 28, 2007
Cambodian Premier Says the Country to Start Tapping Oil Revenues in 2010
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodia expects to begin tapping offshore oil revenues in 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday, dismissing skepticism about his government's ability to manage the prospective fortune.
"Let's not rush, but by 2010 we can begin getting revenues from oil," Hun Sen said at a student graduation ceremony. He did not say how much oil the country could expect to extract, how much revenue it will generate and when production will begin.
U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. discovered oil in 2005 off the Cambodian coast, 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the seaport of Sihanoukville, which is 185 kilometers (115 miles) southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh. The company found the crude oil in four wells in an area called Block A and plans to drill 10 more wells by the end of 2007.
Addressing concerns that the increased income from oil could exacerbate Cambodia's already widespread corruption, Hun Sen pledged that the country's health and education sectors would receive a large share of the revenues.
Te Duong Tara, the director-general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, said last month that recent estimates that Block A holds 400 to 500 million barrels were mere speculation.
Scores of Asian and European companies have also been seeking licenses to explore and tap Cambodia's potential oil wealth.
Hun Sen brushed off critics' concerns that oil revenues could worsen Cambodia's already rampant corruption, saying the country would not follow the path of oil-rich Nigeria, which is regularly ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by Berlin-based corruption watchdog, Transparency International.
"Some people are worried about the Nigerian disease, saying it should not be allowed to reach Cambodia. I have told them that Cambodia is not that stupid," he said.
U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli is among those who had voiced concern about how Cambodia would handle a sudden surge in national income.
He said late last year that oil production could generate considerably more than US$1 billion (euro757 million) a year in revenue for Cambodia.
The prospective new income would be "an extraordinary jump" for a country that currently relies on some $500 million (euro380 million) from aid donors every year, he said.
Having good intentions without the political will to fight corruption "will get Cambodia exactly nowhere" with the expected oil revenues, Mussomeli said in a speech to an economic conference last Friday.
"You must develop a transparent policy framework and establish comprehensive institutional structures that will prevent anyone, no matter how powerful, from misusing these revenues," he warned.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodia expects to begin tapping offshore oil revenues in 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday, dismissing skepticism about his government's ability to manage the prospective fortune.
"Let's not rush, but by 2010 we can begin getting revenues from oil," Hun Sen said at a student graduation ceremony. He did not say how much oil the country could expect to extract, how much revenue it will generate and when production will begin.
U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. discovered oil in 2005 off the Cambodian coast, 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the seaport of Sihanoukville, which is 185 kilometers (115 miles) southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh. The company found the crude oil in four wells in an area called Block A and plans to drill 10 more wells by the end of 2007.
Addressing concerns that the increased income from oil could exacerbate Cambodia's already widespread corruption, Hun Sen pledged that the country's health and education sectors would receive a large share of the revenues.
Te Duong Tara, the director-general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, said last month that recent estimates that Block A holds 400 to 500 million barrels were mere speculation.
Scores of Asian and European companies have also been seeking licenses to explore and tap Cambodia's potential oil wealth.
Hun Sen brushed off critics' concerns that oil revenues could worsen Cambodia's already rampant corruption, saying the country would not follow the path of oil-rich Nigeria, which is regularly ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by Berlin-based corruption watchdog, Transparency International.
"Some people are worried about the Nigerian disease, saying it should not be allowed to reach Cambodia. I have told them that Cambodia is not that stupid," he said.
U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli is among those who had voiced concern about how Cambodia would handle a sudden surge in national income.
He said late last year that oil production could generate considerably more than US$1 billion (euro757 million) a year in revenue for Cambodia.
The prospective new income would be "an extraordinary jump" for a country that currently relies on some $500 million (euro380 million) from aid donors every year, he said.
Having good intentions without the political will to fight corruption "will get Cambodia exactly nowhere" with the expected oil revenues, Mussomeli said in a speech to an economic conference last Friday.
"You must develop a transparent policy framework and establish comprehensive institutional structures that will prevent anyone, no matter how powerful, from misusing these revenues," he warned.
1 comment:
mAY BE THE GRACE ROOT CAMBODIAN SHOULD STAND UP!
ANOTHER CIVIL WAR?
UN AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY DO SOMETHING BEFORE YOU HAVE TO TRY YO OPEN ANOTHER UNOPEN COURT AGAIN!
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